Bartender's Pockets — MCA One-Sheet

Pre-ProPre-Production SheetDemo Approved / Direction Locked

Sheet header

Key

C Major

BPM

6/8 - see note

Time Sig

6/8

Artist

Kris Bradley

Co-written with

Samir Osman

Status

Demo Approved / Direction Locked

Act 1, Track 9 — Co-write with a fellow bartender

Core Concept

"When the morning comes for most of those fools, this fool is just saying goodnight."

Kris spent 10 to 12 years behind the bar in dive bars, carrying people's secrets, pouring their grief, validating their sins. This song was co-written with another bartender who brought the same war stories and the same quiet exhaustion of the job. It's told from behind the bar — the observer who sees everything, fixes nothing, and then locks up alone and pours one for herself and the ghosts. The bartender's pockets hold smoke and shame and woodpecker matches. That says everything.

Emotional Arc

Opens with the familiar parade of regulars and their rituals. Verse 2 reveals the bartender's own complicated relationship with love and advice — giving it freely while knowing she's no authority. The bridge is the devastating turn: once she's wiped up everyone else's tears, she slumps into a dark corner booth, raises a glass to her own sordid past, and watches the last fading gasp of her youth. The final chorus hits differently after that.

Thematic Language

Smoke, shame, and woodpecker matches in worn out pockets

They come in alone, most leave the same

Validating sins along with the round

Pouring one for me and the ghosts

The last fading gasp of my youth

The fool who's just saying goodnight

Sonic Palette

Overall Vibe

Classic country. Guitar and vocal at the center. Late night, smoky, worn in. The production should feel like the bar at last call.

Demo Status

Demo vibe is approved and to be recaptured. The goal is cohesion with the record, not reinvention of what's already working.

Strings

Add strings to support and elevate. Should feel cinematic without being overwrought. They earn their moment in the bridge especially.

Player Input

Open to further creative contributions from co-producers, players, and collaborators. The demo is the starting point, not the ceiling.

References

John Prine

Jason Isbell

Lucinda Williams

The storytelling tradition, the world-weary character sketch, the humor and heartbreak sitting side by side. This song lives in that John Prine pocket.

Music Video / Visualizer

Concept TBD

Open Questions

Strings, lap steel, or pedal steel — open to producers' input

Music video or visualizer direction TBD

Act 1, Track 9

MarketingMarketing Plan14 buckets · how it reaches people

Positioning & release

Song Sheet - Disc One / Single · Date TBD

Disc OneAlbum TrackDive Bar Years

This page is scaffolded and ready. Buckets fill in as KB brain-dumps the song. Structure matches every other song sheet so nothing has to be redesigned later.

📖 Story

Layer 3 — The Public Story Fan-facing

Fan hook. If you've ever served drinks for a living, or sat across from someone who has — this song is for you.

I bartended for a long time. So did my friend Samir Osman, who I wrote this one with.

We sat down to write one day and started trading what we used to call bartender war stories. The regular who came in every Tuesday and only ever ordered one whiskey neat and never said why. The couple who fought every Friday and made up every Saturday like clockwork. The guy who tipped a hundred dollars on a six dollar beer the night his wife left him.

You see people at their best and at their worst when you're behind the bar. You hear things they wouldn't tell their priest. You become a strange, temporary kind of family for whoever happens to need one between last call and the cab ride home.

And you carry it. All of it. Stuffed into your pockets along with the cash and the receipts and the lighter you keep meaning to give back.

That's where this song came from. Years of pockets full of other people's nights.

"Years of pockets full of other people's nights."

Layer 1 — Bullet Framework Internal anchors

Memory anchors, angles, and key lyric placement. To add.

Layer 2 — Performance Scripts Short · long · stage banter

Short, long, and stage-banter versions. To add.

🎵 Lyrics

Written by Kris Bradley & Samir Osman · © Boomfox Productions

VerseThey say pour me another round, barkeep
I've got some forgettin' to do
They don't care if it's red wine, or whiskey
As long as I'm there to fade out their blues

I've heard stories of love gone south
Watched new romances bloom
They come in alone, most leave the same
But I know they'll all be back soonChorusIn these worn out bartender's pockets
I carry my smoke and my shame
And an old box of woodpecker matches
To set it aflame
With nothing left to lose
Have you ever considered my plight
When the morning comes
For most of those fools
This fool is just saying goodnightVerse 2I'm not schooled in the fine art of love
Unless you count a cool glass of gin
But I'll give you advice along with that round
Validate all of your sins

So until it's that time for last call
I'll numb what ails you most
Then I'll lock up the doors, kill all the lights
And pour one for me and the ghostsChorusIn these worn out bartender's pockets
I carry my smoke and my shame
And an old box of woodpecker matches
To set it aflame
With nothing left to lose
Have you ever considered my plight
When the morning comes
For most of those fools
This fool is just saying goodnightBridgeOnce I've wiped up your tears
And I've mopped up your fears
I slump into a dark corner booth
And I raise one last glass
To my own sordid past
And the last fading gasp of my youthFinal ChorusIn these worn out bartender's pockets
I carry my smoke and my shame
And an old box of woodpecker matches
To set it aflame
With nothing left to lose
Have you ever considered my plight
When the morning comes
For most of those fools
This fool is just saying goodnight
When the morning comes
For most of those fools
This fool is just saying goodnight

😤 Pain Points

Pain points list to be added.

🎣 Hooks & Opening Lines

Hooks and opening lines to be added.

🪞 Nobody Wants to Hear Series

Song-specific versions to be added.

📱 POV Series

POV lines to be added.

🎬 Content Formats & Video Ideas

Video concepts to be added.

🔗 Stitch Targets & Seed Videos

Seed videos, creator targets, and hashtag bank to be added.

📝 Captions

Captions list to be added.

📅 Pre & Post Release Checklist

Populate from the Six-Week Cycle template on the Strategy page.

🎥 Music Video

Music video concept to be added.

💿 Sync & Licensing

Sync and licensing notes to be added.

📰 Press & Outreach

Pitch angles, target outlets, and outreach status to be added.

🪧 Billboard - One Per Song

Confirmed: every single in the campaign gets its own billboard. Not a phase-4 or cash-flow-permitting extra — a locked part of each release.
Billboard copy: To add — write this song's billboard line here.

↑ Back to Dashboard

LyricsLyrics5:17

Written by Kris Bradley & Samir Osman · © Boomfox Productions

Verse

They say pour me another round, barkeep
I've got some forgettin' to do
They don't care if it's red wine, or whiskey
As long as I'm there to fade out their blues

I've heard stories of love gone south
Watched new romances bloom
They come in alone, most leave the same
But I know they'll all be back soon

Chorus

In these worn out bartender's pockets
I carry my smoke and my shame
And an old box of woodpecker matches
To set it aflame
With nothing left to lose
Have you ever considered my plight
When the morning comes
For most of those fools
This fool is just saying goodnight

Verse 2

I'm not schooled in the fine art of love
Unless you count a cool glass of gin
But I'll give you advice along with that round
Validate all of your sins

So until it's that time for last call
I'll numb what ails you most
Then I'll lock up the doors, kill all the lights
And pour one for me and the ghosts

Chorus

Bridge

Once I've wiped up your tears
And I've mopped up your fears
I slump into a dark corner booth
And I raise one last glass
To my own sordid past
And the last fading gasp of my youth

Final Chorus

AdminRegistration & RightsISRC · BMI · UPC · credits

Registration

ISRC

QTA6R2600011

Key

C Major

BPM

6/8 - see note

ISRC source

Boomfox prefix

UPC (album)

To be assigned

BMI work registration

In review

Publisher

Kris Bradley Music (BMI)
IPI 00821161184

Writer account (BMI)

KAMAI BRADLEY KRISTI LEAH K (550220798)

Writers

Kris Bradley, Samir Osman

Duration

5:17

Master format

44.1k/16

Time signature

6/8

Recording year

2026

Release status

Unreleased

Label

Boomfox Productions LLC

Producers

Kris Bradley, Eric Torres, Blue Foley

Mix

Eric Torres

Mastering

Sam Moses

Players on the record

Kris Bradley - acoustic guitar
Xander Fitzig - fiddle

Where the files live

Master WAV: MCA Masters - Sept 8 (Google Drive)
ISRC allocation: MCA ISRC Master List (Drive, Admin folder)
Credits: Album Credits sheet (Drive)
BMI: applications.bmi.com, account KAMAI BRADLEY KRISTI LEAH K (550220798)