Four Brothers

[Verse 1]
Started out with my ma and pa
Sunday shoes by the old church yard
Hand-me-down shirts on a backyard line
Thought that picture was forever mine
Till the day that neighbor called the law
Red and blue in the gravel yard
Mama’s tears in a cardboard box
Daddy’s boots by the cinder blocks
[Chorus]
Now it’s just me and my brothers three
Sleeping two to a bed
Praying quietly
Oh God
Why me
Why us
Why now
Trying to be brave but I don’t know how
Four brothers in a world too big
Holding on to the little we get
Oh God
Why me
Oh God
Why me
[Verse 2]
Caseworker said
“Y’all pack fast”
Trash bag suitcase
Don’t look back
Baby bro asking
“When we going home?”
I just shrug
Cause I just don’t know
Kitchen table in a stranger’s house
Grace is said but I’m full of doubt
Keep my eyes on their wooden floor
Hear my name
But I ain’t sure
[Chorus]
Now it’s just me and my brothers three
Learning new rules at seventeen
Oh God
Why me
Why us
Why now
Trying to be strong
But I’m breaking down
Four brothers in a world too cold
Sharing one worn coat when the nights get old
Oh God
Why me
Oh God
Why me
[Bridge]
One day I swear I’ll buy some land
Raise a little place with my own hands
Set four plates
Light one porch light
Call my brothers home that night (come home)
[Chorus]
Till then it’s me and my brothers three
Whispered hopes in the dark set free
Oh God
Help me
Help us somehow
Turn this hurt into something proud
Four brothers
We’ll make it through
All this loss that we stumbled into
Oh God
Hear me
Oh God
Hear me
[Outro]
Started out with my ma and pa
Now it’s just me and my brothers
God
Four brothers in a rusted truck
Rolling on
Just chasing luck

folk, Modern country ballad with male vocals, sparse acoustic guitar and mournful banjo rolls. First verse sits intimate and close-mic’d, then the chorus widens with gentle harmonies and a subtle kick. Second verse brings in a soft pad and low fiddle swells, bridge strips back to guitar and voice before a final, aching chorus and a lingering banjo outro., acoustic, sad, country