[Verse 1] The house was still in its black clothes When they brought the papers in They wiped their boots like gentlemen And smiled like next of kin They said the year had been expensive They said the land was in a knot They said a woman living lonely Gets confused about what she's got I poured the coffee. I sat quiet I let them talk around the dead Then I set the ledger on the table And I pointed where it said [Pre-Chorus] Not the ring Not the dress Not the story they can wear You will measure what he promised You will cut the widow’s share [Chorus] Cut the widow’s share Don't you dress it up as care Cut the widow’s share I can see you in the chair If love is something you inherit Then love gets counted in the air Cut the widow’s share And don't you dare call it fair [Verse 2] October made the rooms look honest Every lamp showed what they took The good coat gone from the hallway The watch missing from the nook They said he wanted them to have it They said I heard him wrong They said grief will make a widow Write her name where it don't belong I let them finish. I let them cough I let the clock do what clocks do Then I brought the box out of the cupboard With the letters and the truth [Pre-Chorus] Not the ring Not the dress Not the sermon at the gate You will weigh it on the table You will pay it while you wait [Chorus] Cut the widow’s share Don't you dress it up as care Cut the widow’s share I can see you in the chair If love is something you inherit Then love gets counted in the air Cut the widow’s share And don't you dare call it fair [Verse 3] There is a road behind this village Where they haul what they won't name I walked it with his winter jacket And I walked it back the same I did not put him in a story I put him in the ground Then I came home to living people Trying to shave a widow down So I sharpened what he left me Not a blade, a simple line Every acre, every dollar Every hour that was mine [Bridge] You want the house You want the lot You want the quiet of my name You want October to look holy While you pocket what he made I am not a scene in your kindness I am not a guest in this chair He died. I stayed. Now you cut The widow’s share [Breakdown] Measure Measure Say it plain Measure Measure Say my name If you came here to be family You will leave here paying all the same [Verse 4] By morning they had found their manners They found a pen. They found a check They found the part of them that noticed I was done being polite and wrecked I signed once. I did not thank them I did not walk them to the door The corpse road took their taillights sideways And the house sat mine once more I set a plate out for the habit Then I ate from it alone A widow’s share is not a blessing It is the part they should have known [Chorus] Cut the widow’s share Don't you dress it up as care Cut the widow’s share I can see you in the chair If love is something you inherit Then love gets counted in the air Cut the widow’s share And don't you dare call it fair [Final Chorus] Cut the widow’s share In the kitchen, in the light Cut the widow’s share I will not mourn you out of sight If you meet me on the dead mile Don't you offer me a prayer I already did the math Cut the widow’s share [Outro] Papers folded Coffee cold House mine Year old Cut it clean Cut it now That is all
