Merrie, Can You Hear Me Now?

Verse 1

Coffee steam and unpaid bills, a flicker in the kitchen light

Three chords ringing in a rented room, I played them through the night

Merrie said, “Dreams are sweet, but baby, sweet won’t pay for shoes

Songs don’t build a house,” she sighed, “they’re just pretty little blues”

Pre-Chorus

I tucked the melody under my breath, like a prayer I couldn’t quit

She folded hope like winter clothes, whispered, “We can’t live on it”

Chorus

Merrie, can you hear me on the radio?

Name in lights where the neon humming grows

You said a song won’t buy a Sunday coat

Now the crowd sings every line I wrote

I ain’t here to say I told you so

But Merrie, can you hear me on the radio?

Verse 2

We signed our names in quiet ink, the judge’s pen a metronome

She packed the frames and left the keys, I moved above a bar alone

Turned our goodbye into a verse, stitched the hurt into a rhyme

Played to tables, empty chairs, counted tips and borrowed time

Pre-Chorus

Every no became a note, every doubt a second chance

I learned to bleed in four-four time, I learned to make the sorrow dance

Chorus

Merrie, can you hear me on the radio?

Marquee burning like a harvest glow

You said a chorus can’t keep out the cold

Now the winter’s warmed by gold and smoke

I ain’t calling just to gloat, you know

But Merrie, can you hear me on the radio?

Bridge

I heard you moved across the town, got the peace you always craved

A porch swing, quiet Sundays, all the order that we saved

Maybe once in aisle nine, you catch a hook on someone’s phone

A kid mouths words you used to hear when I would practice at our home

And you tell the cashier softly, “I knew the man behind that tune”

As the scanner beeps on beat, and the fluorescent hums in tune

We were two maps to different towns, both honest in our ways

You married safety, I married the haze

Verse 3

There’s a room backstage that still remembers when I almost quit

Your last look the night you left—yeah, I still write around it

I kept your name out of the papers, kept our ghosts behind the scenes

But you’re threaded through the tapestry that made me what I mean

Pre-Chorus

No hard words, no pointed blame, just the truth we couldn’t bend

Sometimes love can’t hold a storm, sometimes songs are what won’t end

Chorus

Merrie, can you hear me on the radio?

Crowds like oceans where the bright waves roll

You said a verse won’t plant and reap and sow

Now I’m harvesting the notes you’d scold

I ain’t here to call your choices wrong

But Merrie, can you hear me in this song?

Outro

May your mornings find you gentle light, may your garden always grow

May the quiet be a kindness, may your heart still learn to glow

If a distant station finds you on a late drive home alone

Know I’m grateful for the leaving that became my cornerstone

Merrie, can you hear me on the radio?

Between the static and the afterglow

No revenge, just a melody to show

That what was foolish was the seed I chose

Merrie, can you hear me on the radio?

Julia O’Hara 2025

THANK YOU for reading my work. I am a global nomad/permanent traveler, or Coddiwombler, if you will, and I move from place to place about every three months. I am currently in Peru and heading to Chile in a few days and from there, who knows? I enjoy writing articles, stories, songs and poems about life, spirituality and my travels. You can find my songs linked below. Feel free to like and subscribe on any of the platforms. And if you are inspired to, tips are always appreciated, but not necessary. I just like sharing.

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