[Verse 1]
You fold my shirts beside the bed
Like morning still belongs to us
The doctor speaks, you turn your head
As if the words might lose their trust
I watch you count the medicine
Then hide the tears behind your hand
I wish I could stay strong enough
To keep the promise that we planned
[Pre-Chorus]
But time is taking what it takes
And love can't bargain with the day
So come a little closer now
There's something I need to say
[Chorus]
When you lose your husband
Don't lose the life we made
Keep the blue mug by the window
Keep the roses that you saved
And when the house feels empty
Let my name fall through your lips
I may be leaving this room, love
But I'm not leaving you like this
[Verse 2]
Your wedding ring is loose tonight
You twist it when you cannot sleep
I hear the floorboards answer back
To every promise we still keep
The photograph above the stairs
Has caught us young and unaware
You laugh the way you did back then
I memorize it from the chair
[Pre-Chorus]
If I could trade these final miles
I'd put forever in your hands
But all I have is what we were
And all the love you understand
[Chorus]
When you lose your husband
Don't let the silence win
Play our record on a Sunday
Let the sunlight find your skin
And if you meet somebody
Who can make your whole heart lift
Don't call it betrayal, darling
I would want you to live
[Bridge]
I am afraid of leaving you
You are afraid to let me go
Two hearts can hurt in different ways
And still be one beneath the sorrow
So hold me like you always did
No perfect words, no brave disguise
If love is more than staying here
Then love will meet you after I die
[Final Chorus]
When you lose your husband
Cry until the crying ends
Then open every curtain
And let the morning in
I'll be inside the kindness
You show a stranger at the door
Inside the way you say, "I'm fine"
When you have been through this before
[Outro]
You fold my shirts beside the bed
And leave one place for me
Love, when you lose your husband
Remember who you helped me be