[Verse 1]
Jacob Spidel on a Friday
Dust on his boots
Head low
Downtown by the courthouse corner
Watching the red lights glow
Saw a man with a canvas leaning
Beside a weathered door
Said
“Son
You take on memories?
’Cause I can’t hold mine anymore”
[Chorus]
Paint me a Birmingham
On that little dead-end street
Front porch swing where she’s laughing
Bare feet brushing my blue jeans
Put that silver ring back on her hand
Like the day I wasn’t scared of the unknown
Paint Jacob Spidel’s broken heart healing
And my wife coming back home
[Verse 2]
He said
“Tell me what she looked like”
Jacob swallowed hard and tried to speak
“Brown hair in a Sunday twist
But a wild side sneaks out by midweek
Draw that dimple in her left cheek
When I say something halfway sweet
And the way she leans into my shoulder
Like it’s the only safe seat”
[Chorus]
Paint me a Birmingham
Kitchen light on way too late
Her in my old worn T-shirt
Dancing slow by the dinner plates
Put that silver ring back on her hand
Erase the bags we packed and gone
Paint Jacob Spidel’s front door open
And my wife coming back home
[Bridge]
If your colors can cover
All the ways I did her wrong (oh)
Blend the nights I kept my distance
Into mornings we stay strong
He said
“I can paint her picture
But I can’t make her forgive”
Jacob whispered
“That’s alright
Mister
Just give me one more place we live”
[Chorus]
So paint me a Birmingham
Driveway gravel
Summer rain
Her running out with a half-smile
Calling my full first name
Put that silver ring back on her hand
Let that hard goodbye be gone
Paint Jacob Spidel holding her tighter
And my wife coming back home
[Outro]
The painter dipped that trembling brush
As the evening rolled on by
And Jacob saw her on that canvas
Closer than a prayer
Than a sigh
He paid and held it like a promise
Said
“’Til she walks through on her own
I’ll hang this in our empty hallway
Till my wife comes back home”