The Heartbreaking Story Behind “Alyssa Lies” by Jason Carroll

Every once in a while, a song will hit you right in the feels, stirring up your emotions – and “Alyssa Lies” by Jason Carroll is one of those songs. 

Written by Carroll himself, the poignant ballad was released in October 2006 as the lead single to his debut album Waitin’ in the Country. The song reached No. 5 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart and also fared modestly on the pop chart, peaking at No. 58. 

Story Behind The Song

In an interview, Jason Carroll revealed that it took him two years to write “Alyssa Lies.” He added that it was an emotionally painful process that he actually developed migraines.

The song tells the story of a father whose young daughter met a new friend at school named Alyssa. Sadly, Alyssa is being abused at home. But what’s even sadder is that nobody noticed the sign of the abuse, and Alyssa would give a trumped-up story to what truly happened to her.

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Until one evening, the father heard his daughter praying for Alyssa’s safety – and right then and there, he knew what it was he had to do. Unfortunately, the following day he learned he was too late to save Alyssa.

“Alyssa Lies” then earned much attention for its message in the widespread presence of child abuse along with its criticality. It was actually inspired by a poem written by Carroll’s friend. 

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Carroll recalled the first time he read the poem and how he thought to himself that it could be a powerful song, but he hesitated as “child abuse might be too dark for me to even write,” he said. But when he watched a news story on an absolutely similar subject, he thought, “Somebody somewhere is trying to get me to write this song.”

So, grab your tissues and listen to Jason Carroll’s “Alyssa Lies” in the video below.