Honky Tonk Angels (Don't Happen Overnight)

He promised her the world in exchange for her body and her heart,

And like countless other girls far too young to see the danger at the start.

He took her places unknown to her where she had never been,

And a woman took the place of a child who was never seen again.

She found out early on the pain her heart can feel when it breaks,

And she lived to learn the hard way she’d be the one to pay for its mistakes.

And in her search for love her name became the gossip of the town,

And the people who had nothing else to do began to try to bring her down.

All her fair-weather friends took to callin’ her little misunderstood,

And she heard them saying as she passed them by, “That girl is just no good.”.

And though it hurt her Ma and Pa to tell her that she brought the family shame,

They cast her out into a heartless world like a stranger just the same.

When her boots hit the street she had to learn to find another way,

And she took to workin’ all night in a honky tonk until the light of day.

And despite all the gossip, and the hurtful things and all the awful names,

She rose up from the ashes every time her little world went up in flames.

She’s got a family now who lives where the neon lights are bright,

And she don’t need you to tell her what is wrong and what is right.

She’s never run even when she knew how hard she had to fight,

Cause honky tonk angels don’t happen overnight.

No honky tonk angels like her don’t happen overnight.