[Verse 1]
Coffee gone cold on the counter
Tiny shoes kicked off by the door
You said you’d be home by dinner
You said you’d be better than before
I hold this house together
With one hand and a fraying thread
Keep smiling at our daughter
While this storm spins in my head
[Chorus]
A mother’s love
Can hold the sky when it’s breaking
A woman’s scorn
Can turn that same sky red
But somehow my heart
Keeps setting one more place at the table
Between the mercy and the flame
I make a bed
For you again
[Verse 2]
You come in smelling like trouble
Mumbled sorry
Eyes to the floor
My chest is a loaded question
My pride already packed at the door
I could burn your shirts in the backyard
Say I’m done
Walk out tonight
But then she calls you “Daddy”
From the hallway
In the light
[Chorus]
A mother’s love
Can hold the sky when it’s breaking
A woman’s scorn
Can turn that same sky red
But somehow my heart
Keeps setting one more place at the table
Between the mercy and the flame
I make a bed
For you again
[Bridge]
I’ve thrown your words like dishes
I’ve thrown your sins in your face (oh)
But every time I’m finished
I’m still saving you a place
[Chorus]
A mother’s love
Can hold the sky when it’s breaking
A woman’s scorn
Can turn that same sky red
But somehow my heart
Still leaves the back porch light burning
Between the mercy and the flame
I choose the ache
Of you again