[Verse 1]
Boots by the door
Never got worn home
Coffee on the counter
Still lukewarm, still there
Radio crackled
Half-finished toast on the plate
Kiss on the forehead
"Be back by eight" (yeah)
Sirens in the distance
Kids in the back seat prayed
He ran toward the fire
They just drove away
[Chorus]
Last out, first in, that's the code they gave
He traded his tomorrow so a life got saved
Folded flag on the porch, small town parade
They’re all here ‘cause he went all the way
Last out, first in, write it on that stone
A thousand hearts beating where his used to go
They made it back to the ones they hold
But he didn’t make it home
[Verse 2]
She wore that badge
Tucked the fear in deep
Laughed with the new kid
"Don’t blink, streets don’t sleep" (nah)
Traffic at a standstill
Smoke crawling up that sky
She parked on the shoulder
Said, "Y’all, move behind" (go)
Pulled that door
Bent that frame by hand
Dragged two strangers
Back to solid land
[Chorus]
[Bridge]
[low vocal register]
Who tells their story when the cameras fade?
When the news moves on to the next big wave?
Mama at the table, tracing his name
Kids on the swing set, still safe, still playing
[rap verse]
Uniform folded, but the love don’t crease
They gave their breath so your lungs could breathe
Every bruise on their arms, every scar we can’t see
Built a bridge from the flames to the free
I see a helmet in the back of a truck
Car seat in the rear like a twist of luck
They left at dawn, didn’t get that dusk
And we owe that debt like a sacred trust (yeah)
[Chorus]