Man of the House

[Verse 1]
Boots by the doorway
Dust on his old blue hat
Coffee steam, sunrise
He smiles, “I’ll be right back”
Kneels by the table
Rough hands on my small brown fists
Says, “You listen to your mama
And remember this”
[Chorus]
“You’re the man of the house till I get back”
He laughed when my shoulders shook under that
Said, “You stand up tall, even when you’re scared
Keep the light on, say your prayers”
Wrote his name on a note by the thermostat
“You’re the man of the house till I get back”
[Verse 2]
Mama watched tail-lights
Fade down that gravel road
Her smile fell quiet
When the radio played the news report low
I swept that kitchen
Chased off every midnight sound
Checked each window
Like he taught me, making my rounds
[Chorus]
“You’re the man of the house till I get back”
Those words like a coat on a weathered rack
Hung by the door through the storms and years
Caught my doubts, soaked up tears
Little boy in boots growing into the cracks
“You’re the man of the house till I get back”
[Bridge]
[Soft trumpet cries, guitars hush]
One folded letter
Came home in a stranger’s hand
Flag in a triangle
Sand in my shaking palms, dry land
Mama said, “Mijo
He’s watching from someplace kind”
But the echo of his promise
Wouldn’t leave my mind
[Chorus]
“I’m the man of the house till you get back”
Set his old hat on the highest rack
Patch the roof, hold mama tight
Walk my sister down the aisle one night
I still talk to your picture when the porch goes black
I’m the man of the house
Till you get back

country, Warm western ballad over gentle mariachi ensemble: nylon-string guitar and bajo sexto strum a steady sway, soft trumpets answering vocal phrases, light guitarrón holding the low end. Male vocals up close and tender in the verses, chorus opens with harmonies and a small swell of horns. Bridge leans into aching strings and a lone trumpet line for the emotional turn, then returns to a bittersweet, hopeful final chorus., mariachi