Love Is the Law (6.1)

[Intro] Dust on the boots, coffee gone cold Screen door banging in the morning fold [Verse 1] [Pre-Chorus] The fields are waiting on a word Before the rain makes everything blur Dust on the boots Rain on the corn [Verse 2] [Pre-Chorus] He'd be out there before first light Come back home with dirt on the cuffs My dad worked the daylight Till the stars came on [Verse 3] [Pre-Chorus] He never talked just to fill the air He'd point and I'd hear it there He taught me to listen To the whistle of the wind [Verse 4] [Pre-Chorus] Said if you want to know what lasts Look past the asking, past the cash Said love ain't a bargain It's the road we're in [Verse 5] [Pre-Chorus] We turned off where the gravel ends Past the fence line, past the bend Out past the pasture Where the pine trees lean [Verse 6] [Pre-Chorus] There was a figure by the ditch Pale coat, torn hem, tired hitch We saw a lonely queen In a torn-up dream [Verse 7] [Pre-Chorus] She held those dogs like they were kin Mud on their paws, ribs showing thin She had two dog children With bright-eyed grace [Verse 8] [Pre-Chorus] They stayed close like they knew the rules No barking, no rush, just following through They followed her softly Through the shadowed place [Verse 9] [Pre-Chorus] Then the brambles caught her sleeve And the woods got mean in the deep Then she fell in the woods Where the briars grew wild [Verse 10] [Pre-Chorus] My dad moved slow, not making noise Like he didn't want to scare the choice My dad took her hand Like a worried child [Verse 11] [Pre-Chorus] He kept his voice low and clear Like he was talking somebody back from fear He said, "Ma'am, you’re not lost Not while we are here" [Verse 12] [Pre-Chorus] Those dogs let out one sharp bark Then settled down in the half-light dark And the dogs barked golden Like they had no fear [Verse 13] [Pre-Chorus] We gathered limbs, dry and bent Made a circle where the night got spent We built a fire By a crooked stone [Verse 14] [Pre-Chorus] She warmed her hands, then looked out far Like she could see past every scar And the queen told stories Of a far-off home [Verse 15] [Pre-Chorus] She talked about a place of tin roofs and wells Where the bad days loosened and the hard spell fell She dreamed of a valley Where the hurt could mend [Verse 16] [Pre-Chorus] A place where nobody stood outside Where worn-out feet could step inside Where the broken and weary Could begin again [Verse 17] [Pre-Chorus] No one talked about what it cost No one counted what was lost No one sold mercy No one priced the rain [Verse 18] [Pre-Chorus] In that patch of ground, word got around You don't need money to stand your ground In God's country, brother There ain't no chain [Verse 19] [Pre-Chorus] No ticket at the fence, no tag on the creek No hidden fee for what you need Nothing for sale here Not the sky, not the seed [Verse 20] [Pre-Chorus] If your hands are shaking, if your pockets show There's still a place for you to go Only bread for the hungry And room for the need [Verse 21] [Pre-Chorus] He looked right past the parade and flags Past the speeches and the stitched-up rags My dad said, "Freedom Ain't just flags in the light" [Verse 22] [Pre-Chorus] "It's the first hand up when you can't stand Somebody staying till the cold moves in "It's a hand on your shoulder When the cold comes night" [Verse 23] [Pre-Chorus] So we watched her gather what she could Two tired dogs and a shaken good So the queen kept walking With her two dog children [Verse 24] [Pre-Chorus] The trees broke open with the morning Even the briars seemed to be mourning And the woods turned holy As the dawn stepped in [Verse 25] [Pre-Chorus] And now I carry that same old tune Like a lantern walking me through Now I sing what he taught me Under stars that remain [Chorus] Out here, the gate swings wide If you come poor or proud Callused hands, dirt roads We still make room somehow Love ain't a lock, it’s a lantern in the road Pass it hand to hand, let it carry you home Love ain't a lock, it’s a lantern in the road Love ain't a lock, it’s a lantern in the road (hey) love ain't a lock, it’s a lantern in the road [Outro] Dust on the boots, but the miles still show What my dad gave me, I still know When the road runs out and the dark rolls in Love is the law here, let it pull us in