(Verse 1)
The chapel bells were still a-echoin'
In the summer Georgia air
You slipped a golden promise on my hand
And swore you'd always care
We planted dreams in every room
Of this old house we made a home
Two hearts beatin' on the same tune
Never thinkin' to be alone.
(Chorus)
Oh, we wanted a love that would multiply
A little cry beneath this sky
But the months turned to years, and the silence grew loud
Just a hope and a prayer inside a lonely crowd.
(Verse 2)
I wrote the letters I never sent
To a name I hadn't said
My brother up in Memphis
A wall of foolish pride we'd built instead
But desperate hearts make bridges
Over canyons deep and wide
He came with science and a secret
And a promise he would try.
(Chorus)
‘Cause we wanted a love that would multiply
A little cry beneath this sky
But the world don't see a healing, a sacred, silent fight
All they saw was a strange car in my driveway at night.
(Verse 3)
I saw the shadow in your eyes, dear
A coldness where the warmth had been
The whispers of the busybodies
Slippin' poison under your skin
I should have reached right out and told you
But I wanted it to be a surprise
A positive test on a coffee table
With the sunrise in your eyes.
(Bridge)
The door blew open like a thunderclap
A twisted truth you thought you knew
No time for words, just a blind, black rage
And the bark of a gun, not one shot, but two
And the secret that I carried
The new life just begun
Was buried with me on the floorboards
By the barrel of your jealous gun.
(Outro)
You found my diary, my desperate pages
The whole story plain and true
My brother's visits, the treatments, the hope
The little heartbeat we made, me and you
Now you're shackled to the truth, son
In a prison you designed
With three ghosts in an empty nursery
And a life sentence on your mind.