Alyssa Lies

Album: Waitin' In The Country (2007)
Charted: 64
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Songfacts®:

  • This song is about a little girl named Alyssa who hides her bruises. She is being abused at home and her friend tells her dad. The next day at school Alyssa isn't there because she was killed by injuries she had sustained. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Alyssa - Toledo, OH
  • For Jason Michael Carroll, songwriting is an almost spiritual experience. It's his philosophy that songs are waiting in the ether for someone to call them forth. This song he thinks proves that point. He told us: "A friend of mine wrote a poem about child abuse, and I remember reading the poem and thinking, Man, that would be a strong song. I'm a dark writer, actually. I write a lot of dark things. But I thought that child abuse might be too dark for me to even write. So I tried to leave the idea alone, and I remember coming back to it a couple of days later. I was like, Man, I can't do that, I can't write it. Couple of days later I saw a story on the news about the exact same thing. I thought, Somebody somewhere is trying to get me to write this song. And I wrote the first verse and the chorus in a week and a half, and after that, I mean, every two weeks pick it up, put it back down. Two weeks later pick it up, put it back down. It took me two years to write 'Alyssa Lies.' So that's where I kind of started believing that that's how it is."
  • "My dad was a very strict person," explains Jason. "Now, was it to the point of Alyssa? No. But my dad was a preacher, so I saw some of the families that he helped that went through abuse and that kind of stuff. And then, after I saw it on TV, I knew that somebody was wanting me to write about it." (check out our interview with Jason Michael Carroll)
  • According to Childhelp.org, over 3 million reports of child abuse are made In the US every year. Yet it is believed that the actual incidents of abuse and neglect are three times greater than those actually reported.

    Some sobering statistics:

    Four children die every day as a result of child abuse and three out of four of these victims are under the age of 4.

    A report of child abuse is made very 10 seconds.

    Of the reported rapes of children under 12 years old, 90% of the victims knew the perpetrator.

    Child abuse occurs at every socio-economic level, across ethnic and cultural lines, with all religions, and at all levels of education.

    36.7% of all women in prison and 14.4% of all men in prison in the United States were abused as children.

    Children who have been sexually abused are 2.5 times more likely to abuse alcohol and 3.8 times more likely to become addicted to drugs.

    One-third of abused and neglected children will later abuse their own children, continuing the horrible cycle of abuse.

    To learn more, visit Childhelp.org, they are a non-profit organization.

Comments: 21

  • George J. Eckel from Lynchburg V.aI was abuse as a child to I am trying to get. My live together. I go to talk to a doctor wine a week it is hard. For me. To go though live with.my bad dreams bad .sometime I need help a lot.i know how they child feed at time. It is hard in live so just tell the Chilean go and side a pray and ask God to watch over them .an take one day at a time with their live a God bless them all thier are in my pray at night .
  • Chloe from KankakeeWhy. Is. It. So. Sad
  • Ariel from LouisvilleI am crying so hard I am 18 my mother abused me almost my whole life I would cry myself to sleep but if I told anyone she would beat me more I had countless therapist only one figured out and called the police they came to they house and because it was kept nice and looked expensive they said I got it good and to stop lying I am wasting their time their was three people who tried to help me but things got worse I wanted to die I tried to kill myself 2 times and cut my legs to pieces and then I finally turned 18 I left the house and even though I stayed homeless for 2 months after I left I was just happy she couldn't hurt me anymore this song just made me cry so much especially the ending
  • S. from New York City, Ny@alyssa, georgia: Have you called the police? Have they helped you? If they haven't, I think I have to do something!
  • Ana from Seattle, WaMy momma was abused as a child. Everybody thought her dad was a good person. when she tried to tell the cops they didn't believe her.
  • Dan from Bedford, InOur Great and Grandparents Support Group in Bedford, IN. have been working with legislators to get a committee meeting at the State House to review WHY child abuse victims were left to die in abusive home settings. I survived my broken bones as a child abuse victim who simply grew up and left home. These dead children never got that chance. This song really touched my heart when I first heard it. The committee meeting are going to take place in August through September of 2012. These children were associated with a Department of Child Services process and not helped by this system. They were left to die. Visit this link to understand some other thoughts by professionals. (http://advanceindiana.blogspot.com/2012/03/child-fatality-review-team-head-for-dcs_17.html?spref=fb) This doctor resigned. Thank you for this song and I wish stations would play it more often. Schools do try to make a safe place for kids yet the children have to go back home. Neighbors can do more by calling 911 if they know a child is being beaten to death. Spanking or scolding a child is one thing but severely beating and breaking bones is criminal. Please - if you know something is wrong - then do something right. Dan - Indiana.
  • Shelby from Frenchville, PaI love this song but its really sad. I don't understand why people do that.
  • Kelsey from Sandusky, OhI really like this song but at the same time i dont because it is a very sad song and when i see or hear the video of the song i feel like breaking down in tears. for another who in the world would every think of child abuse because when someone finds out when u do stuff like that u will have to pay time for the crime and it is sad because she didnt get to finish the rest of her future in a good way. that is what i think of this song in particuler.
  • Nicole from Renton, WaI think that everyone (at least with heart) will cry the first time they hear this song. It really gets too me. I know a friend whos name was Alyssa and I heard rumors and even saw a few bruises. I heard this song and I was like Man, I need to tell someone about this because I dont want Alyssa ending up like the Alyssa in this song. Turns out it was a good thing I did. She is safe now and I am glad I did. So everything for her is great now. :D
  • Alyssa from Jacksonville, FlThis song breaks my heart. Child abuse is so cruel. Who would do that to their child? Its awful. I cry whenever I hear this song. M name is Alyssa, and the first day it came on the radio everyone was calling me and crying telling my to listen to it. I cry everytime. Its so heart breaking.
  • Anne from Hanover, MiThis song is so true and I don't think people do enough to prevent child abuse. I also think the child agencies don't do enough either. But remember mental abuse lasts forever.
  • Landon from Winchester, OhThere was a man that heard this song on the radio for the first time while he was driving in his car, and he had to pull over to cry and called the local country radio station up and told them how much the song means to him.
  • Alyssa from Georgia,my name is alyssa too. this is a really sad song. it was weird because i heard it the day i moved out of my dads house. he was abusive which is why i moved.
  • Tonya from Sharon Grove, Kythis song made me cry the first time i listened to it but i was very very very sad and crying after i saw the video
  • Mister P from Magnolia, TxDarrell....if the country had parental licenses years ago your folks would have had theirs revoked.
  • Alyssa from Forney , TxI like this song
    Its really sad though when you decide to do something to late
  • Darrell from EugeneMark of McHenry, you just read the writing of a 63-year-old fascist who would like to run the WORLD with an iron hand.
  • Bob from Bobtown, CaI just realized, this songfact was posted by someone named Alyssa.
  • Mark from Mchenry, IlA license for parenting? Talk about a drastic overreach of governmental control!! Childbirth and parenting are natural things and far predate any form of government or licensing. Just because some people screw it up doesn't mean we need to do something as ridiculous as this. What good is a license going to do anyway? Every single activity that requires a license has people doing that activity who screw it up, sometimes with deadly results. This is a nice song with a sad story, a story that sadly reflects some of life's real incidents. But it's still nobody's business who has or does not have children, when they have them, or whether they have a clue what to do after they've had them. Most people figure it out and do it reasonably well.
  • Darrell from Eugene, United StatesThe lyrics of "Alyssa Lies" describe the reason that I believe that all new parents should have a license. After all, you wouldn't let an unlicensed caregiver or a convicted felon care for your incapacitated 90-year-old great-great-grandma.
  • Bob from Bobtown, CaThis song depresses me.
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