[intro] To my darlin... [Verse 1] Well, I met you on a gravel road, nineteen and wild-eyed, You in that sundress, smilin’ like the Fourth of July. We said “I do” in a little white church, no money in our jeans, But we had a banjo, a borrowed truck, and a pocket full of dreams. [Chorus] Forty years, darlin’, through the fire and the rain, We’ve bent like the willows, but we never broke the chain. From the hollerin’ matches to the midnight makin’ up, You’re still the sweetest note in this old heart’s pickup truck. Oh, I love you more than yesterday, less than tomorrow, You’re my high lonesome, my one and only sorrow turned to joy. [Verse 2] We raised four young’uns on cornbread and stubborn pride, You stitched their britches, I worked the coal till I nearly died. There were nights I came home smellin’ like whiskey and regret, You’d leave the porch light burnin’ and forgive what I forget. [Chorus] Forty years, darlin’, through the fire and the rain, We’ve bent like the willows, but we never broke the chain. From the slammed-screen doors to the slow-dance kitchen floor, Your laugh still echoes down these pine-board walls and more. Oh, I love you more than yesterday, less than tomorrow, You’re my high lonesome, my one and only sorrow turned to joy. [Bridge – half-time, mandolin tremolo] I’ve seen your gray hair catch the sunrise, soft as morning mist, Felt your hand in mine when the doctor gave us that twist. We’ve buried dreams and parents, planted gardens in their stead, And every furrow that we plowed led us deeper into bed. [Verse 3] Now the kids got kids, and the banjo’s out of tune, But your eyes still sparkle like a Tennessee moon. Let the world keep spinnin’, let the young folks chase their thrill, I’ve got my forever sittin’ right here on this hill. [Final Chorus – full band, kick off] Forty years, darlin’, and I’d sign up for forty more, Every wrinkle’s a roadmap to the heart I still adore. Through the lean crop summers and the fat-back winter stews, Ain’t a single sunrise I’d trade for losin’ you. Oh, I love you more than yesterday, less than tomorrow, You’re my high lonesome, my one and only… My one and only joy. [outro – slow, a cappella] After all these years, you’re my one and only joy.
