[Arrangement: solo piano and one female voice] [Verse 1] I was raised in Saint Martin On Brown County clay Where the church bell rang each morning And the corn came up in May We had cousins down the gravel We had rosaries and rain And I thought the world was steady Till the draft board called his name [Verse 2] Pete was laughter in the kitchen He was trouble in his shoes He’d steal a roll and cross himself Like God would let him through He left with Daddy’s rosary And a duffel at his feet Said, hey, mind Mama for me Like he was going down the street [Pre-Chorus] We kept his letters in a shoebox By the Bible in the hall Then one day the letters stopped And two soldiers came to call [Chorus] So I keep a light on in my window When the hard rain starts to fall Not because my country’s perfect Not because I know it all But for Pete and every family Who learned what freedom cost I keep it burning for the promise Even after what we lost I keep a light on for America Small and shaking in the dark For a country free enough To break my heart [Verse 3] They brought Pete home to Saint Martin When the corn was turning brown There were people on the sidewalk But nobody made a sound The priest said words of mercy Daddy stared down at his hands Mama held those folded colors Like she couldn’t understand [Verse 4] I learned freedom isn’t fireworks Or speeches in July It’s the things a family doesn’t say When a black car rolls by It’s the chair that no one sits in It’s the birthday standing still It’s a sister growing older Than her brother ever will [Chorus] So I keep a light on in my window When the hard rain starts to fall Not because my country’s perfect Not because I know it all But for Pete and every family Who learned what freedom cost I keep it burning for the promise Even after what we lost I keep a light on for America Small and shaking in the dark For a country free enough To break my heart [Verse 5] Years went by and I kept living Cause that’s what people do Married, buried, voted, prayed And watched the evening news Then I saw him by the courthouse Trying to shield a match from rain And the flag that covered Pete Was curling in the flame [Verse 6] I know he had the freedom To tell the world his pain Pete died for that same freedom But it hurt me just the same Maybe it is only fabric If you’ve never watched it fold Over everything you prayed for And the hand you couldn’t hold [Bridge] I don’t know all the answers I get angry, I get tired Some days I hardly recognize The country I admired But love was never blindness And grief was never hate So I light this little candle And I leave it in its place [Final Chorus] So I keep a light on in my window When the rain turns cold and mean For the boy who burned the colors And for my Pete in Army green Not because she’s always worthy Not because she can’t do wrong But because some boys believed in her Long after they were gone I keep a light on for America Small and shaking in the dark For a country free enough To break my heart [End]
