The Leader Of The Exodus
(By Tim Jackson and Eric Erdman) 

Slinging ink from a pearl handle pen
She wrote her way onto the row
Where fanning the hammer is considered a win.
They wanna see how much ammo you can throw
then catalog the spent shell casings

But she called bullshit on their numbers game 
Two verses and a chorus by noon? 
It’s either got guts or it don’t
And If the bar’s low enough that anything’s a tune
Ain’t no reason for her to stay here

In this town where the best thing you can be is overplayed
Truth got traded for turning a phrase
Well that’s not an exchange she was willing to make
(So) When she Cut and let the loose end drag ,
she wasn’t turning her back on the rest of us
No, She isn’t just another runaway 
She's the leader of the exodus

Says this industry’s just an experiment gone wrong
The muse don’t dance on a conveyor belt
Formula song after Formula song
These days best thing to come out of Nashville... is I-40 west

Mediocrity was the last thing any of us wanted
But we were swimmin’ in it
There was one among us, undaunted
She read the stars and in a minute ...showed us where it can and can’t be found
and one thing’s for sure it can’t be found

In this town where the best thing you can be is overplayed
Truth got traded for turning a phrase
We learned that’s not an exchange anyone should make
(So) When she Cut and let the loose end drag ,
she wasn’t turning her back on the rest of us
No, She ain’t just another runaway 
She's the leader of the exodus