The story
He keeps writing until the apology wears down.
He buys a hundred pencils from the dollar store and spends them on letters, pages, and excuses he should have said when she was standing there. One pencil remembers her laugh, another the fair photograph burning and being pulled from the flames, and the last one waits for the words that matter most, because words are all he has left.
Lyrics
Verse 1
I bought a hundred pencils from the dollar store Gonna write a hundred letters to your front door Gonna fill a hundred pages with the things I should've said When you were standin' right in front of me instead Number one starts with I'm sorry and it's true Number two through ninety-nine are all about you
Pre-Chorus
I know that words on paper Can't undo what's done But maybe if I write enough You'll read at least just one
Chorus
A hundred pencils, a hundred tries A hundred different ways to apologize A hundred reasons you should give me one more chance A hundred words for the way I miss your hands I'll write until the graphite's gone Until the eraser's just a nub A hundred pencils for a hundred ways I'm tryin' to say I still love
Verse 2
Pencil thirty-seven writes about your laugh Forty-two's about the time you burned the photograph Of us at the fair and then you fished it from the flames Cause even angry you still couldn't let go of our names Seventy-one's the one where I admit I'm scared That a hundred pencils won't prove how much I cared
Chorus
A hundred pencils, a hundred tries A hundred different ways to apologize A hundred reasons you should give me one more chance A hundred words for the way I miss your hands I'll write until the graphite's gone Until the eraser's just a nub A hundred pencils for a hundred ways I'm tryin' to say I still love
Verse 3
And pencil number hundred, that's the last one in the box I save it for the words that matter most of all If I had a hundred lifetimes, I'd choose you in every one From the first pencil stroke to when the writing's done So here's a cardboard box of everything I feel A hundred pencils worth of love that's real
Bridge
Maybe it's foolish, maybe it's insane To think a pencil box could ease the pain But I'm a man who works with what he's got And words are all I've got, so here's my shot A hundred pencils, sharpened to the point Of tellin' you this love won't disappoint Not again, not ever, not if I can write A hundred reasons to come home tonight
The sound
Quirky, heartfelt mid-tempo at 102 BPM. Acoustic guitar with a gentle, story-driven strum. Light piano providing whimsy and emotion. Soft brushed drums. Minimal arrangement letting the clever lyrics shine. A touch of mandolin for color. Think creative storytelling country like Kacey Musgraves or Brandy Clark. Charming and emotionally inventive.