Long Year – Gary Allan (originally by Todd Snider)

I came in off a dead-end street
I walked in slow and took a back row seat
I knew I had nothing new to say
So many people looked so burned out
I couldn’t help but feel bad about
Just having to be there anyway

A friend of a friend from work came in
I never knew what to think of him
He’d always seemed to be so insincere to me
I’m always been afraid of the 12-step crowd
‘Cause they laugh too much and they talk too loud
Like they all know where everyone should be

It’s been a long, long long year
It’s been a long, long long year
How did I get here?

They were talkin’ in a circle, I was by myself
And everyone was tellin’ everyone how they felt
It felt like so long since I was young
The circle kept movin’ on the way to the back
While I was wonderin’ what I was gonna say in fact
I still didn’t know as it rolled off my tongue

It’s been a long, long long year
It’s been a long, long long year
How did I get here?

So I didn’t say a word all the way to my car
But a little later on that night at the bar
Well I was tellin’ everyone how bad my life had gone
They said, “Brother, all you need is another shot”
So I threw one down and said “Thanks a lot”
As I thought to myself, “Here we go again”

It’s been a long, long long year
It’s been a long, long long year
How did I get here?