Verse 1 
Back when Saturday nights smelled like ashtrays and bars, 
Old Chevys in driveways, dust on the cars. 
My buddy’s old man had a laugh like a fight, 
Breath full of Banquet, a pack of Marlboro Lights. 
Verse 2 
Those kitchen-table stories, smoke curling the air, 
We’d sit in the doorway just glad to be there. 
They weren’t rich, they weren’t saints, but damn they were right, 
Living on Banquets and Marlboro Lights. 
Chorus 
Banquets and Lights, that’s how I remember, 
Backyard guitars and beer-cold Decembers. 
Faded blue jeans and a jukebox that bites, 
The world smelled like Banquets and Marlboro Lights. 
Verse 3 
They taught us to work, and they taught us to bend, 
How to raise hell and still shake a hand. 
Yeah, the eighties were wild, but it cut me just right, 
Growing up on Banquets and Marlboro Lights. 
Chorus 
Banquets and Lights, that’s how I remember, 
Backyard guitars and beer-cold Decembers. 
Faded blue jeans and a jukebox that bites, 
The world smelled like Banquets and Marlboro Lights. 
Bridge 
Some of ‘em gone now, some still around, 
Some lost the fight, some just laid it down. 
But I still hear the laughter drift out of the night, 
Breath full of Banquets and Marlboro Lights. 
Outro (soft) 
Yeah, we grew up tough under neon skies, 
On Banquets and Lights… Banquets and Lights

Banquets and Lights

[Verse 1]

I’ve been runnin’ from the memories
Like a sinner from the light.
But every road I take
Turns your shadow into night.
I pour a little bourbon
Just to feel a thing again—
Some scars don’t ever close,
They just learn to live within.

[Chorus]

If love was easy,
I’d lay my head down, get some sleep.
If lettin’ go meant freedom,
I’d be somewhere runnin’ deep.
But I’m stuck here with the pieces
Of a dream we never had—
You took the best of me,
Left me half of what I had.

[Verse 2]

There’s a picture in my wallet
That I swore I’d throw away,
But every time I touch it
I remember how I prayed
For a life we never made it to,
For a man I couldn’t stay—
Now I’m fightin’ with the silence
’Cause it knows me by my name.

[Chorus]

If love was easy,
I’d lay my head down, get some sleep.
If lettin’ go meant freedom,
I’d be somewhere runnin’ deep.
But I’m stuck here with the pieces
Of a dream we never had—
You took the best of me,
Left me half of what I had.

[Outro — Short, Soulful]

Yeah, I’m learnin’ how to stand again
With half of what I had.
Half of what I had.

Half Of What I Had

I’m JD Hodge — Oklahoma-born, red dirt-raised, and songwriting for over 30 years.

In 2024, I flatlined on an operating table. Cardiac arrest. Everything changed.

When I came back, the words came with me — like they’d been waiting their turn. Since then, the songs haven’t stopped. I write what’s real: struggle, hope, grit, and grace — stories meant to be felt.

You’ll hear pieces of my past, my people, and the kind of heartland truth you can’t fake. These songs aren’t just mine — they’re for anyone who’s fought through silence and still found a voice.

Retired • Lyricist • Country • Americana • Acoustic Soul
Oklahoma, USA

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