“I’ve Been Around” by Marty Stuart has strong recovery energy if you look beneath the surface. On the face of it, it’s a reflection on having lived through a lot — seen the highs, the lows, the beauty, and the grit. But through a recovery lens, it hits different.
Let’s break down some of the themes that align with recovery:
Lyrics as Recovery Metaphors
(Note: Paraphrased or selected lines)
“I’ve been around long enough to know…”
This line speaks to experience, wisdom from mistakes, and lived truth. Recovery isn’t just about staying clean or abstinent — it’s about what we’ve learned from the wreckage.
“I’ve heard the silence, felt the thunder, walked through fire, crawled from under.”
Straight-up Step One to Step Three vibes. Chaos, defeat, surrender — and survival. That crawl from under? That’s the miracle of grace and willingness.
“I’ve been down so long I had to look up to see hell.”
That’s the bottom. Raw and honest. Many of us know what it’s like to live in the basement of our own making. But acknowledgment is part of the transformation.
“I’ve been around… but I’m still here.”
Return. The heartbeat of recovery. We don’t stay because it’s easy — we stay because we’ve seen the cost of not staying.
Ties to Recovery Themes
Survival with scars – It’s not a pretty, polished survival. It’s a scarred, weathered, sober-by-the-grace-of-God survival.
Humility – This isn’t a brag song. It’s a bearing witness song. The kind of honesty we hear in Step Five or on speaker shares.
Belonging – The chorus almost feels like a wink to others who’ve “been around.” A nod across the room. A spiritual fist bump.
“I’ve Been Around” isn’t a recovery anthem in name, but it bleeds recovery in spirit. It’s the soundtrack to Step Ten on a hard day. It’s what you hum when you show up at a meeting after a relapse, head held just high enough to walk back in.
If Marty ever walked into the rooms, nobody would blink. He’d sit down, say, “My name’s Marty, and I’ve been around,” and the room would nod.
You don’t have to be clean to be committed.
You don’t have to be proud of your past to tell the truth about it.
You just have to be here — still.
Still hurting. Still fighting. Still returning.
That’s what today’s about.
Marty Stuart said, “I’ve been around…” — and something about that phrase sounds like a coin hitting the bottom of a coffee cup. A recovery anthem in disguise.
This poem is for anyone who’s been knocked down more times than they can count… and still showed up again, shaky but willing.
Still Here (I’ve Been Around)
I’ve been around the wreckage,
lit my smokes off burning bridges.
Made peace with devils I once called friends,
then prayed for mercy at both ends.
I’ve whispered lies with a clean face on,
sold fake hope till the real was gone.
I’ve binged, I’ve purged, I’ve justified,
then knelt down low and damn near died.
I’ve watched the clock at 3 a.m.
Wondering if God still answers them.
The prayers that taste like copper blood,
the ones you say when you’ve had enough.
I’ve shown up late. I’ve ghosted calls.
I’ve made amends, then broke them all.
But something holy haunts my name—
a whisper through the grit and shame:
“You’re still here.”
That’s the grace I can’t explain.
Not earned, not bought, not spared the pain.
Just raw return. Just daily breath.
Just choosing life when life meant death.
So yeah—I’ve been around, it’s true.
But I ain’t done. I’m showing up.
And maybe bruised, and maybe bent—
but I’m still sober on the rent.
Today’s Grit Check:
What lie do you keep telling yourself that’s keeping you stuck?
Where have you “been around” but not fully returned?
What would it mean to show up as you are — no filter, no front?
You don’t have to be polished.
You just have to be present.
This is recovery — and you’ve been around long enough to know what matters.
~DeeBo