Shadows of the truth

[Verse 1]
She rolled into Huntsville like a summer storm off the Tennessee line,
Eighteen years young, swearin’ she was twenty-three, eyes sparklin’ like moonshine.
Said her name was somethin’ sweet, no ring on her finger, no ties to hold her down,
We built dreams on late-night drives and small-town talk all over this Alabama ground.
A year of holdin’ hands by the river, dancin’ slow to old Hank on the radio,
She spun tales of a simple life, but somethin’ in her story didn’t flow.
I felt the cracks in every promise, the way her laugh would sometimes break,
But I loved her fierce through the questions, for heaven’s sake.
[Chorus]
Oh darlin’, I knew the truth all along,
Every lie you told was just your scared heart’s song.
You thought I’d hate you when the real name came to light,
When the years you borrowed showed up in the fight.
But I still love you, girl, from eighteen to forevermore,
Age don’t matter when the heart keeps score.
You ran scared from those white mountains in your mind,
Thinkin’ I’d leave the love behind… but I’m still here, waitin’ this time.
[Verse 2]
Then the truth came callin’ like a cold December wind,
Her sister spilled it over coffee—real last name different, life she’d never lived.
Never married, that part true, but the rest? A tangled web she wove,
Up in those white mountains where the secrets grow, nothin’ made sense down here below.
She stood there shakin’ in my kitchen, tears like rain on red clay dirt,
Waitin’ for the anger, waitin’ for the hurt.
I just pulled her close and whispered, “Honey, I’ve known for quite a while,
Your heart was what I fell for, not the fairy tale or smile.”
[Chorus]
Oh darlin’, I knew the truth all along,
Every lie you told was just your scared heart’s song.
You thought I’d hate you when the real name came to light,
When the years you borrowed showed up in the fight.
But I still love you, girl, from eighteen to forevermore,
Age don’t matter when the heart keeps score.
You ran scared from those white mountains in your mind,
Thinkin’ I’d leave the love behind… but I’m still here, waitin’ this time.
[Bridge]
You fled like fog liftin’ off them high peaks far away,
Tail lights vanishin’ in the night, leavin’ me with words I couldn’t say.
I ain’t blamin’ the mountains or the name you left behind,
Just wish you’d seen the truth I held—girl, you were always mine.
Love don’t need perfect stories or ages that align,
It just needs two hearts honest, beatin’ in the same sunshine.
[Final Chorus - softer build, then resolve]
Oh darlin’, I knew the truth all along…
(Every lie was just your scared heart’s song)
You thought I’d turn when the mask fell away…
But I’m still standin’ here today.
I still love you, girl, through the miles and through the pain,
Come back from those white mountains, let me ease the rain.
You don’t have to hide no more…
I’m waitin’ down in Alabama, forever at my door.
[Outro - fading]
Yeah… white mountains lies… they fade when real love calls you home.

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