v1.0 The After Road | Nick & Me

The After Road [Verse 1] I heard the news on an ordinary day A hard word with a hollow sound The world kept moving like it always does But something in me sat down Your name came through like weather Like thunder with no rain And I was back inside that kitchen Back walking dust again [Chorus] This is the after road Where the living carry on With a letter in their pocket And a friend already gone This is the after road Where the silence takes its place And every word I wrote you Still keeps looking for your face [Verse 2] I remember how you laughed sometimes Like trouble had a grin I remember how the dark could come And fold you back within I remember being angry I remember being kind I remember all the things I said Still walking in my mind [Chorus] This is the after road Where the living carry on With a letter in their pocket And a friend already gone This is the after road Where the silence takes its place And every word I wrote you Still keeps looking for your face [Bridge] I won’t make you cleaner Than the man I knew back then I won’t make me holy Just because I lived, my friend We were two men in the weather We were two men in the flame And love don’t lose its witness Just because it carries blame [Verse 3] There are rooms I cannot enter There are doors I cannot close There are roads that keep on asking What a dead man never knows Did you hear me when I told you Use your words and show me you? Did some part of you believe me When I said I loved you too? [Chorus] This is the after road Where the living carry on With a letter in their pocket And a friend already gone This is the after road Where the silence takes its place And every word I wrote you Still keeps looking for your face [Verse 4] So I leave you where I found you Not a saint and not a ghost Just a man I walked beside When we both were almost close If mercy has a back road If heaven has a room May you find the quiet there That never came to you [Final Chorus] This is the after road Where the living learn the cost Of loving someone truly Who still somehow got lost This is the after road No answer, no return Just a letter still burning And a lesson slow to learn [Outro] Nick, I hope you’re quiet now I hope the war got still I hope somewhere beyond this road You know I loved you, Will