Frontman

Driving six hours on a Saturday
To play for fifty in a bar across the state
No one in the room will know ya
But for two hours you sing
Louder than the forks hitting plates
Keep the expectations humble
Sing your favorite line and someone cracks a
smile and you're embarrassingly proud
Don't they know that you're the frontman
Of the second biggest band in your small town?

On the weekdays you teach high school
Students troll you with your videos online
And you play at all the wineries
Which really means you drink far too much wine
But goddamn do you feel special
When a stranger wants to know when
Your next album's coming out
Just the perks of being frontman
Of the second biggest band in your small town

As you thank people for coming
Someone grabs you by the hand
Says you need to find a publisher
An agent, and a brand
And you smile and nod politely
Pack up t-shirts and cds
Knowing full well that the only way
To make it is to leave

It's been one hell of a summer
Made good money and the guys all got along
Opened up for a famous classic rock band
Minus the singer who wrote all of their songs
Now people are asking was that the big break that
Carries your songs all the world around
And your answer's optimistic
But you're just the thirtysomething frontman
Of the second biggest band in your small town

You thank god for local radio
And community that cares
When a tourist from the city says
"You're putting yourself out there"
Sometimes your dreams wander
When you're up drinking alone
But really all you've ever wanted was
This baby, wife, and home

So you burden your odometer
Load & unload gear more times than you can count
And you love being the frontman
Of the second biggest band in your small town
We post all our shows on Facebook
We're the second biggest band in your small town
Add my songs to all your playlists
I'm the thirty-something dad-bod-rockin' acoustic guitar playing eponymous frontman
of the second biggest band in your small town