Sat down at
Thirteen or twelve
It don’t matter either way
It’s too young
To be told
Love ain’t real
Stone faced
No crying
Keep silent
Till you run upstairs
Shut the door
Then you can feel
But make them proud
Keep your cool
And don’t tell the girls at school
Cause you know a secret they don’t
You know a truth that they won’t learn for years
You know you’ll end up alone
Cause when the two people meant to always be in love
Tell you that it’s time they’re splitting up
You know that love ain’t real
In high school
Two houses
Driving in between every week
With your things
In the trunk
Of your car
Big sister
At college
She don’t get cause she didn’t have to live it
For all
Of the years
That you did
But make her proud
Keep your calm
Don’t let her know you feel alone
Cause you know a secret she don’t
You know a truth that she won’t learn for years
You know you’ll end up alone
Cause when the two people meant to always be in love
Tell you that it’s time they’re splitting up
You know that love ain’t real
Years go by
You grow up
And you try to find your own love in this world
Things go wrong
Then you run
Cause you know it’s just a matter of time
Best to get out now before he says goodbye
Cause you know a secret he don’t
You know a truth that he won’t learn for years
You know you’ll end up alone
Cause when the two people meant to always be in love
Tell you that it’s time they’re splitting up
And though you try to run away from all the doubt
When so many broken hearts have let you down
You know that love ain’t real
Love Ain’t Real is a heartbreaking country ballad that paints a little girl struggling to understand the meaning of her parents’ divorce, the role she plays in it, and the effect it will have on her throughout life. It was written as a self-reflection of my own childhood, as my parents went through a divorce during my formative and most awkward years – middle school. As a child, and throughout high school, I never processed the emotions of my parent’s divorce; I never went to therapy, I never talked to anyone about how gut wrenching it was – and because of that (though maybe not solely), I have walked through my relationships with an extremely jaded outlook. I’ve only recently begun to unpack that, and this song was the first step.