The Bruises He Covered Up

[Verse 1]
He came in late again
Mud on his jeans
Said the truck broke down
On some backroad stream
Sat in the second row
Eyes on his desk
Flinched when I joked
About “tough homes” in jest
[Chorus]
Those were the bruises he covered up
Long sleeves in August, collar pulled shut
“I’m fine, just clumsy,” that little half-smile
I graded his papers, missed every sign
Thought I had time
But the truth bled out in a long, cold night
And the morning news said it all
Too late to pick up his call
[Verse 2]
Parent-teacher conference
“Boy’s doin’ fine”
His daddy’s handshake
Felt like a warning line
He asked for extra work
Said, “Can I stay?”
I turned off the lights
Sent him on his way
[Chorus]
With all the bruises he covered up
Long sleeves in August, collar pulled shut
“I’m fine, just clumsy,” that little half-smile
I stacked up excuses, same as he tried
Both of us blind
Till the sirens screamed through the sleepless night
And his empty chair in the fall
Hit harder than any fall
[Bridge]
Now every quiet kid
That won’t meet my eyes
I hear his voice in theirs
I don’t let it slide (no more)
Walk past his picture
In the old yearbook
My name on the page
Can’t stand to look
[Chorus]
These are the bruises we all cover up
Secrets and stories we pad and we tuck
“I’m fine, just busy,” my own practiced line
But I see his desk in the back of my mind
Frozen in time
If I ever hear “I’m fine” said that tight
I’ll stay till the walls all fall
’Cause silence can finish the job
That started with one hidden mark on a small boy’s arm

country, Sparse, gravel-dry country ballad with male vocals; close-miked acoustic guitar and brushed snare, bass low and slow. First verse stays hushed and intimate, then a small organ pad and distant pedal steel swell into the chorus. Bridge pulls instruments down to near-silence for a heavy vocal moment, then final chorus returns with stacked harmonies and a cracked, late-night delivery., sad