Don't Spin it in Reverse

Lyrics

Don't Spin it in Reverse

When the needle drops down on an old 45
It stirs up memories I’ve been keepin inside
An old man says, “Spin it the other way ’round,
You’ll get back everything you lost in this town.”
The room starts laughing, but I stay still
Watching that record turn until
The crackle ain’t static, it’s boots in the hall
The ice in my whiskey’s a fist through the wall

     They all want another chance somehow
     I don’t need one now

     Let the sad song play till the last note’s gone
     Leave what’s buried where it’s been this long
     That old Ford can rust where the fence rows curve
     That hound can sleep where the red dirt serves
     She can stay where the years have laid her
     Mercy’s a hard thing to come by, neighbor
     I paid too much for the life I’ve earned
     Don’t spin it in reverse

If the groove ran backward, I’d wake in the rain
Three miles from town with ’shine in my veins
Back in a house where the windows shook
Reading tomorrow in one hard look
Coffee gone cold on a chipped-up plate
That screen door snapped like a heart would break
She paid in hurt, and I paid in shame
Nobody wins in that kinda game

     Repeat Chorus

Funny what folks’ll wish back home
A truck, a dog, a girl they’ve known
But every mile between then and now
Cost more than I could tell you how
The past we lost wasn’t meant to stay
It let us go so we could live today

     So let the sad song play till the last note’s gone
     Leave what’s buried where it’s been this long
     That old Ford can rust where the fence rows curve
     That hound can sleep where the red dirt serves
     You can have the miracle if that’s what you’re after
     I’ve finally learned the sound of laughter
     I paid too much for the life I’ve earned
     Don’t spin it in reverse
     Yeah, don’t spin it in reverse

Writer: J. Ryan Johnson (BMI)
Copyright: © 2026 J. Ryan Johnson. All rights reserved.
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