⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ UK Songwriting Contest Highly Commended (Love Songs category)

This is Not Love by Tony Gibbs
All rights reserved © ℗ 2025 Tony Gibbs

It’s midnight in the kitchen, and the coffee’s gone cold,
Your coat’s on the back of the chair like a story we never told.
I’m staring at the floor where our shadows used to fall,
Wondering when the space between us
Turned into a wall.

Your silence fills the room like a radio out of tune,
I keep trying to fix the static,
But the song just won’t resume.

’Cause this is not love—
It’s a habit we kept holding.
Two hands on a rope that’s slowly unfolding.
You call it forever, but we barely show up.
If this is all we’ve got,
Then this is not love.

Streetlights paint the curtains with the colour of our doubt,
We talk in measured moments, terrified to shout.
I used to think your needing me meant I was enough—
But being needed isn’t being wanted,
And that truth is tough.

I whisper to the mirror, “You can let this go,”
’Cause staying for the memories
Is the hardest “no” I know.

’Cause this is not love—
It’s a promise we keep faking.
Two hearts in a bed that’s always shaking.
You call it forever, but we barely show up.
If this is all we’ve got,
Then this is not love.

I stayed because the quiet scared me more than the pain,
I thought passion was the thunder
Hidden inside the rain.
But now I see the sunrise on the cases by the door—
I’m walking out to find a heart
That won’t make me feel unsure.

’Cause this is not love—
And I’m done pretending.
I’m choosing the truth, even if it’s an ending.
You call it forever, but we never showed up.
’Cause this is not love.
No, this is not love.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This is Not Love

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ UK Songwriting Contest Commended 

Happy Funday by Tony Gibbs
All rights reserved © ℗ 2025 Tony Gibbs

Yeah… roll out the bed, boots on the ground,
Rushden to Eton — best crew in town.
Come on then… let’s get buzzing.

Stumble out the door with a half-awake grin,
Need a little kick just to get my day in.
Follow that smell down the high street side,
Happy Funday's brewin’ up the morning pride.

Cup in my hand, and the world feels right,
Steam in the air like a neon light.
Rushden buzz with an Eton beat —
Feels like the weekend every day of the week.

“Start your day the Happy Funday way…”

Wake up, shake up, coffee in your hand,
Happy Funday's crew are like nobody in the land,
Rushden buzz, Eaton vibe on repeat,
Find your Happy Funday on any day of the week!

Got a double-shot smile and a baggy-beat bounce,
Life gets brighter with every ounce.
People in the queue say “morning, mate,”
Feels like a rave in a walking state.

From the first hot sip to the last cool drip,
Got the whole town vibin’ on a caffeine trip.
No need for Friday when the groove’s this sweet —
We’ve got Funday magic every day on the street.

Start your day the Happy Funday way…

Wake up, shake up, coffee in your hand,
Happy Fundays crew are like nobody in the land.
Rushden buzz, Eton vibe on repeat,
Find your Happy Funday on any day of the week!

Go on then — get in line, make your day…
proper Happy.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Happy Funday

Strangely Hopeful by Tony Gibbs
All rights reserved © ℗ 2025 Tony Gibbs

I’ve been walking round the edges
Of the pieces left behind
All the letters I never posted
Still flicker in my mind
But tonight the sky is glowing
In a colour I can’t name
And your voice cuts through the twilight
Like it somehow knows my name

I don’t know why the fear is lighter
When you’re standing next to me
But the hurt I held for ages
Starts to loosen, starts to leave

And I’m strangely hopeful
Like the sun broke through too soon
Like a story that I thought was done
Found another truth
Yeah, I’m strangely hopeful
Didn’t think I’d feel this way
But you’re lighting up the quiet parts
I’d forgotten were awake

I was learning how to listen
To the echoes in my chest
Every promise felt like thunder
Rolling far beyond my breath
But you caught me when I stumbled
On a thought I’d tried to hide
And your patience felt like summer
In the middle of July

I don’t know why the night feels softer
When you’re breathing close to me
But the shadows I’ve been sheltering
Start to loosen, start to leave

And I’m strangely hopeful
Like the sun broke through too soon
Like a story that I thought was done
Found another truth
Yeah, I’m strangely hopeful
Didn’t think I’d feel this way
But you’re lighting up the quiet parts
I’d forgotten were awake

Maybe love is just returning
To the room we left behind
Maybe healing is a doorway
Only crossed when we feel blind
But we’re stepping into something
That feels fragile, brave, and new—
And I’m suddenly believing
What I never thought was true

Yeah, I’m strangely hopeful
Like a window opened wide
Like the night gave up its bitterness
For one soft moment of light
Oh, I’m strangely hopeful
Didn’t think I’d feel this way
But with you I see the silver thread
Running through the darkest days

I’m strangely hopeful
Strangely hopeful
And I think I’ll stay

Strangely Hopeful

First Day Back by Tony Gibbs
All rights reserved © ℗ 2025 Tony Gibbs

Coffee steaming in my hand,
Same old street yet something new.
I’m walking slower than I planned,
Letting daylight filter through.
The world kept spinning smoothly
While I learned to breathe again—
Now I’m stepping through the doorway
Like I’m meeting an old friend.

It’s my first day back,
And the sky feels wider.
Footstep’s lighter,
Finding my pace.
And if the past feels heavy,
I won’t let it track—
I’m here, I’m steady,
It’s my first day back.

I’m not the same as when I left—
And maybe that’s the point.

It’s my first day back,
And the sky feels wider.
Footstep’s lighter,
Finding my pace.
And if the past feels heavy,
I won’t let it track—
I’m here, I’m steady,
It’s my first day back.


First Day Back

Open Water by Tony Gibbs
All rights reserved © ℗ 2025 Tony Gibbs

Sitting in a waiting room
With anxiety in my throat,
Words I never dared to speak
Tremble inside my coat.
But healing starts in whispers,
Not in loud dramatic scenes—
Sometimes bravery is quieter
Than anyone believes.

And I feel like open water,
Still but getting clearer.
Seeing my reflection
Start to look like someone stronger.
I’m learning I deserve the space
To feel and breathe and face the fear—
I’m stepping into open water here.

I sit with all my questions,
Let them settle where they land.
Some rise like restless sparrows,
Some feel heavy in my hands.
But every truth I’m learning
Comes in fragments, soft and small—
And maybe healing isn’t sudden—
Maybe it’s a gentle call.

And I feel like open water,
Still but getting clearer.
Seeing my reflection
Start to look like someone stronger.
I’m learning I deserve the space
To feel and breathe and face the fear—
I’m stepping into open water here.

Step by step,
I’m letting go of all the old unspoken rules.
Breath by breath,
I’m learning how
To give myself some room.
I’m not fixed,
But I’m not broken—
I’m unfolding like the tide.


I feel like open water,
Wider than I was before.
Every truth I dare to name
Becomes an unlocked door.
And though the waves are rough sometimes,
The shore is drawing nearer—
I’m learning how to love my life—
In open water, clearer.

Open Water

Phantom Fading by Tony Gibbs
All rights reserved © ℗ 2025 Tony Gibbs

Flicker of lights on a hollow stage
Fading screams from a younger age
The ghosts of his glory still haunt the air
Now no one remembers or pretends to care

Once a king in white hot flame
What remains is a fading name

A ghost stumbling through his own ruins
Once golden he's now lost in illusion
He was bright, now burning fast
He won’t make it, he won’t last
A phantom fading in his own past.

Whispers of awe turned to weary sighs
The world is tired of his empty cries
“He won’t make it to thirty" they coldly say
While he destroys another day

Both ends lit
The candle bends
No beginning no amends

A ghost stumbling through his own ruins
Once golden he's now lost in illusion
He was bright, now burning fast
He won’t make it, he won’t last
A phantom fading in his own past.

Phantom Fading

Light on the Pavement by Tony Gibbs
All rights reserved © ℗ 2025 Tony Gibbs

I take the long way home again,
Past the windows glowing gold.
People laugh in little rooms,
And I feel half young, half old.
Your memory’s still beside me,
Like a coat I used to wear—
I hang it on the evening
And pretend it isn’t there.

But the air feels lighter
Than it did this time last year,
And every streetlamp flicker
Says I’m still standing here.

So I walk on,
Light on the pavement,
Heart rearrangin’
The shape of your name.
And I breathe in
All that I’m savin’,
Losing you slowly,
Finding myself again.
I’m not broken—
Just a little changed.

I thought the nights would drown me
In the remains of goodbye,
But silence grew around me
Like a clearing open sky.
You were all my constellations—
Now the stars feel wide and new.
Funny how the quiet
Teaches things I never knew.

And the world moves faster
Than the weight you left behind,
But every step gets softer
When I choose to make it mine.

So I walk on,
Light on the pavement,
Heart rearrangin’
The shape of your name.
And I breathe in
All that I’m savin’,
Losing you slowly,
Finding myself again.
I’m not broken—
Just a little changed.

Maybe love is something
That the leaving clarifies—
I can miss you in the morning
And still meet the sunrise.

So I walk on,
Light on the pavement,
Heart rearrangin’
The shape of your name.
And I breathe in
All that I’m savin’,
Losing you slowly,
Finding myself again.
I’m not broken—
Just a little changed.

Light on the Pavement

Silver Rain by Tony Gibbs
All rights reserved © ℗ 2025 Tony Gibbs

This is the time of silver rain,
That falls at dawn when the world is grey.
The sun has given up on us,
The grass no longer grows in mud.
A single flower bows its head,
Morning comes and we’re not yet dead.

After another fitful sleep
The cold of day makes proud men weep

But still we pray, for we believe,
One day we’ll learn again to dream,
We’ll dream a dream of silver rain,
A dawn chorus will be arranged,
In the ice cold silver rain.
We’ll wash our sins and tears away.
In the time of silver rain,
There will be peace and love again.

The silver rain falls down on us
It always has and always would
The silver rain stays the same
What we do is what needs to change

For still we pray and we believe
We’ll sleep one day and learn again to dream
We’ll dream a dream of silver rain
A dawn chorus will be arranged
In the time of silver rain 
I’ll wash my sins and tears away
In the time of silver rain
We’ll find peace and love again

Silver Rain

Heartbeat Highway by Tony Gibbs
All rights reserved © ℗ 2025 Tony Gibbs

You climbed in my truck with that half-smile grin,
Said, “Roll the windows down, let the night begin.”
Thrown-back seat with your feet on the dash,
Playlist loaded up with a little bit of splash.
City lights fade in the rearview glow,
You said, “Drive ’til we don’t know where we’ll go.”
I’m watchin’ you sing every single line,
Thinkin’, “Girl, I hope you’re mine.”

Every green light feels like fate,
Every red light makes us wait—
Just long enough to feel this grow—

We’re on a heartbeat highway, a heartbeat highway,
Runnin’ every mile like it’s our last Friday.
Wind in your hair, hand in mine,
Chasin’ down the stars on the county line.
No map, no rules, no why-way,
Just your laugh and this heartbeat highway.
Baby, if you want, we can drive all night,
Let the sunrise tell us we did it right.

You draw hearts on the fogged-up glass,
Write your name next to mine, then you give a little laugh.
You say, “I’ve been hurt but I still believe,”
I say, “Climb on in, that’s the same with me.”
We trade old stories like worn-out tapes,
Skippin’ over all the worst mistakes.
You look at me with that sideways glance,
Say, “Maybe this is our second chance.”

High beams cut through the unknown dark,
Feels like we’re hidin’ in our own theme park—

We’re on a heartbeat highway,
Runnin’ every mile like it’s our last Friday.
Wind in your hair, hand in mine,
Chasin’ down the stars on the county line.
No map, no rules, no why-way,
Just your laugh and this heartbeat highway.
Baby, if you want, we can drive all night,
Let the sunrise tell us we did it right.

One tank of gas, one brave idea,
You and me, girl—no souvenir,
Just miles and smiles written in the sky,
Two lonely hearts finally learnin’ to fly.

On this heartbeat highway,
Runnin’ every mile like it’s our last Friday.
Wind in your hair, hand in mine,
Takin’ this road past the county line.
If love’s a risk, I wanna shy away?
No way, not on this heartbeat highway.
Baby, if you want, we can drive all our lives,
Let every sunrise say our love survives.

Part 1: Heartbeat Highway

After the Long Drive by Tony Gibbs
All rights reserved © ℗ 2025 Tony Gibbs

The morning crawls in soft and slow,
Your hair a mess, the room still glows.
Empty cups and shoes kicked by the door—
Looks like we danced all night once more.
I never thought a simple ride
Would shake me like a shift in tide,
But here we are, still side by side,
And girl… it feels like somethin’ right.

Your sleepy smile hits me like the sun,
And suddenly I know last night wasn’t just fun—

’Cause after the long drive,
Wakin’ up with you feels like
The kind of moment country songs survive.
Baby, your hand in mine
Still fits just right,
And I don’t need a map to know we’re aligned.
If last night was fire,
Then this is the light—
Yeah, I think we found somethin’
After the long drive.

Coffee brewin’ in your kitchen light,
You hum our song from yesterday night.
I watch you laugh at nothin’,
Lose my breath a bit—
How’d you turn a wild ride into somethin’ that sticks?
You lean into me,
Bare feet on tile,
Say, “Maybe stay a little while…”

And it hits me again like the break of day—
This ain’t a fling, no way—

’Cause after the long drive,
Wakin’ up with you feels like
The kind of moment country songs survive.
Baby, your hand in mine
Still fits just right,
And I don’t need a map to know we’re aligned.
If last night was fire,
Then this is the light—
Yeah, I think we found somethin’
After the long drive.

Maybe love starts
In a midnight spark,
Where two lost hearts
Learn where they belong.
And maybe the truth
Is as simple as you—
A sunrise kiss,
A reason to carry on.

After the long drive,
Wakin’ up with you feels like
Life’s checkin’ in and sayin’, “Take your time.”
Baby, your hand in mine
Still fits just right—
Yeah, whatever road comes next, we’ll drive.
If last night was fire
Then this is the light—
Girl, I think we found something
After the long drive.

Part 2: After the Long Drive

Ain’t Backing Down by Tony Gibbs
All rights reserved © ℗ 2025 Tony Gibbs

I got fire in my blood from the ones who came before,
Granddad’s hammer on the wall, mama singing hymns at the door.
They taught me how to fight clean and how to love fierce—
If you think I’m turning tail, well honey, think again—I'm right here.

When the world's in the shade, I don’t run, I don’t hide—
I just dig my heels in deeper, let my lightning strike.

I ain’t backin’ down, no matter how hard you push—
I was built from the ground with steel in my soul and a backbone of wood.
Got my faith in my chest, got my people behind—
Try to shake me, break me, take me—go on, get in line.
I ain’t backin’ down—
Not now, not ever, not this time.

This heart don’t scare easy, this voice won’t be tamed,
I’ve been raised on truth and courage, not on runnin’ from the flames.
So go ahead, throw your matches, light your little fires—
I’ll be standing in the ashes singin’ louder, stronger, higher.

Yeah, you can bring your thunder, but I’ll bring my roar—
I’m the storm you didn’t see coming, the girl who settles no score.

I ain’t backin’ down, no matter how hard you push—
I was built from the ground with steel in my soul and a backbone of wood.
Got my faith in my chest, got my people behind—
Try to shake me, break me, take me—go on, get in line.
I ain’t backin’ down—
Not now, not ever, not this time

Oh, these roots go deep,
Oh, this heart won’t quit—
I’m the proof you can’t shake
A soul God made to resist.

I ain’t backin’ down, no matter how hard you push—
I was built from the ground with steel in my soul and a backbone of wood.
Got my faith in my chest, got my people behind—
Try to shake me, break me, take me—go on, get in line.
I ain’t backin’ down—
Not now, not ever, not this time —

Go on, get in line...

Ain’t Backin’ Down

UK songwriter. Featured songs have been produced thanks to the talent of Donna Hazelton, Esther O'Connor, Tim O'Connor, Graeme Duffin, Sandy Jones, John Harley Weston, Kim Copeland, Erin Caldwell, Rachel Williams, Tim Buppert, Pete Dymond, Marcie Summers, Stuart Brayson, Buddy Hyatt, Jim Hyatt, Brian Fullen, Glen Duncan, Bob Britt, Wayne Killius, James Mitchell, Doug Grieves, and Ray Curtis. 

All music and lyrics © Tony Gibbs unless shown otherwise. 

2025 onwards: Lyrics, melodies and creative direction: Tony Gibbs.

Use of Artificial Intelligence:

All creative work is developed through a human-led process where AI acts as a digital tool, not a replacement. My role is to provide the emotional truth, lived experience and artistic direction through my lyrics.

Every idea, story and emotional direction originates from my lived experience and/or my own imagination. AI helped me shape structure, phrasing and flow — the final voice, choices and meaning are entirely mine. Backing tracks created using AI. 

All intellectual property for the final lyrics remains with the human author.

Ain’t Backin’ Down

Tony Gibbs

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