He leaned his push broom against the wall and walked across the high school gym
He stepped up on the stage on Veterans Day and all the kids started whispering
He stood silent as they read off the medals he'd earned in that war
Those kids never knew they had a hero sweeping up their floors…
(from “'The Unknown Soldier”)
May you always show the way, live by the golden rule
and be kind to others who are not kind to you
may you live with no regrets and never miss a chance
to tell someone you love them or ask someone to dance…
(from "April's Lullaby")
Grandma's apron smelled like bleach and Martha White flour, sometimes she'd reach
Down into the pocket and pull out a treat
Sayin “How ‘bout a little somethin’ sweet”…
(from “{Grandma's Apron and Grandpa's Vest”)
Uncle Jack always was a rounder, he drove a pickup Ford
He drank beers in Sears easy chairs reading Louis L Amour
I'd sleep on his sofa Summer Saturday nights
When I was with Uncle Jack I felt a little more alive…
(from “Uncle Jack”)
In a Greyhound Station, suitcase by her side, she'd just turned eighteen years old
Daddy's little girl met a boy who did her wrong, and now she's staring to show
But there's a place she can go to raise her baby boy
Where he can feel the love she'd always known
When I asked where she was going, as teardrops filled her eyes
She said “I'm trying to get back home”…
(from “Home”)
I asked for strength and I got troubles to get me straight and strong
I asked for wisdom and I got problems that taught me right from wrong
I asked for courage and I got dangers to get me through my fears
I asked for answers and I got silence that taught me how to hear…
(from “All I Need”)
You're soft grass beneath my feet
in the meadow by the creek
You're the wind in my hair
and the sun on my cheek
You're the birds softly singing
the melody of Spring
All creation shares your glory
of your beauty I will sing…
(from “Psalm”)
I was rolling down a back road when I got lost and saw him sitting there
A proud old straight backed farmer on a front porch chair
Staring off into the distance as a hot dry July morning sun
Lit his shining eyes and the farmhouse he was born in
I stopped to ask directions then asked “ What is it you see
Looking out across that grain field just as empty as can be?”
He said, "Faces in the sun on that horizon
I see the family farmer, I can see the ones
Who will come and go but never disappear
Faces in the sun whose eyes keep shining clear"
(from “Faces in the Sun”)
She feeds the birds outside her kitchen window
She laid every stone on the old home place
She's an old fashioned gal she's the widow
Who lives across the street at a different pace
She gave patience to the world with her children
Gave strength to the world with her man
She worked the herd and she read the Word
Now when she smiles I understand…
(from “State of Grace”)