'Lonely Mountain Town' by Charles Wesley Godwin – Lyrics & Meaning

Charles Wesley Godwin is back. His new EP, Lonely Mountain Town, is set to take hold this Friday, dazzling listeners with another round of songs to make us reminisce, ruminate and feel all the feelings.

Among its seven tracks, however, there is one tune in the collection that trumps them all in its ability to incite emotion.

The release's title track is a doozy of an offering. 'Lonely Mountain Town', with its shadowy strums and haunting lyrics, is a sweeping ballad about love, loss and the daily aches that come with barely getting by.

'Lonely Mountain Town' brilliantly showcases what makes a Charles Wesley Godwin song so impactful: simplicity and intimacy. The song is a no-frills acoustic number – it is brought to life in a trickle of incisive strings and kept afloat on sure strums – that still manages to speak to every part of us, imprinting itself on our hearts.

The arrangement of 'Lonely Mountain Town' rarely strays from its steady guitar stylings, its stark composition the perfect foil for such a desolate song to unfold.

"A broke down heart beats a lonesome sound
When the soul it craves can’t be found
Ghosts of us dance through these streets
It’s a waltz of memories haunting me"

'Lonely Mountain Town' finds Godwin missing something, or rather, someone. He sings of a lonesome heart and a craving soul as memories of someone dear plague his mind.

He seems to be stuck in a place far from the person he loves or trapped in a space where the physical loss of someone is more deeply felt. Either way, he's left to feel barren and alone even in a town full of people. In the chorus, he sings, "This lonely mountain town / Feels empty when there’s people all around / I’m tearing at the seams / What holds me in is day to day routine / Without you, in this lonely mountain town."

Because of this, the mundane tasks of everyday feel burdensome and it's difficult for the singer to carry on.

"This hurt I feel is the damnedest thing
It breaks me, mends me, keeps me sane
Time healed wounds are the kind I fear
I wanna stay right when you stood right here"

It's a peculiar feeling, this kind of pain. When he sings, "It breaks me, mends me, keeps me sane," perhaps he's experiencing a necessary type of hurt, the kind that makes us feel alive and incredibly fortunate to have had someone to yearn for.

He fears losing memories of this person to time gone by and is willing to remain in this forsaken place just to feel close to them again.

"This lonely mountain town
Feels empty when there’s people all around
Born and raised
This place I’m from now feels like a cage
Without you in this lonely mountain town
This lonely mountain town
Lonely Mountain Town"

Lonely Mountain Town came to life through much of 2024, a whirlwind year for the 'Hardwood Floors' star. Fresh off the release of his beloved Family Ties album, Godwin was met with a calendar full of festival outings, sold-out headline shows and stadium appearances alongside Luke Combs.

Throughout all of that, the inspiration didn't stall, the songs never stopped coming and Lonely Mountain Town was born.

Of that experience, he explained, "I’ve learned that I’m at my best when I’m writing and recording songs, so this time around, I was determined, no matter how much I was on the go, to keep pursuing that love of the song and creating. The songs on Lonely Mountain Town are a result of that effort, and I’m excited to share them with you!"

A broke down heart beats a lonesome sound
When the soul it craves can’t be found
Ghosts of us dance through these streets
It’s a waltz of memories haunting me

This lonely mountain town
Feels empty when there’s people all around
I’m tearing at the seams
What holds me in is day to day routine
Without you, in this lonely mountain town

This hurt I feel is the damnedest thing
It breaks me, mends me, keeps me sane
Time healed wounds are the kind I fear
I wanna stay right when you stood right here

This lonely mountain town
Feels empty when there’s people all around
I’m tearing at the seams
What holds me in is day to day routine
Without you in this lonely mountain town

This lonely mountain town
Feels empty when there’s people all around
Born and raised
This place I’m from now feels like a cage
Without you in this lonely mountain town
This lonely mountain town
Lonely Mountain Town

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