# THE EMPTY CHAIR AT SUPPER [Intro] Mama set the table for four Then remembered what she was waiting for Your little boy still saves you a seat And asks if you're coming home to eat [Verse 1] Your work boots are sitting beside the back door Your coffee cup's waiting like it was before Your jacket still hangs where you left it that night And your little girl sleeps with the hall lamp light She tells all her friends that her daddy is brave Then cries in her room when she thinks that we're safe She draws you a picture with a house and a sun And asks me how long till the waiting is done The supper gets cold and the conversation fades Your mother keeps asking if you've called today I tell them you're strong, that you're doing your best Then stand in the kitchen and swallow the rest [Pre Chorus] How do you explain to a child so small That loving a soldier means fearing a call? [Chorus] THERE'S AN EMPTY CHAIR AT SUPPER TONIGHT A little pair of eyes watching headlights outside A mother says grace with a tear in her voice While a family keeps loving with no other choice You are more than a uniform, more than a name More than a photograph beside a burning flame And no speech from a podium can make this feel right There's an empty chair at supper tonight [Verse 2] Somewhere you're standing beneath a strange sky Thinking of birthdays and years passing by You keep all the fear in a place no one sees And dream of the porch and the old maple trees They talk about strategy, numbers, and land But your daughter just wants you to hold her small hand She doesn't know borders or why people fight She knows that her daddy should tuck her in tonight And if you come home with a hurt no one sees We'll learn how to listen, we'll learn how to breathe You don't have to pretend that the hard days are gone You don't have to carry the whole world alone [Pre Chorus] How do you explain to a child so small That loving a soldier means fearing a call? [Chorus] THERE'S AN EMPTY CHAIR AT SUPPER TONIGHT A little pair of eyes watching headlights outside A mother says grace with a tear in her voice While a family keeps loving with no other choice You are more than a uniform, more than a name More than a photograph beside a burning flame And no speech from a podium can make this feel right There's an empty chair at supper tonight [Bridge] To the ones who make the choices Hear the silence in this home Hear the little voice that whispers When will Daddy not be gone? If you ask for their courage Then respect the price they pay Care for every wounded heart Long after they come away [Final Chorus] THERE'S AN EMPTY CHAIR AT SUPPER TONIGHT But we keep your place and we keep the porch light Your little girl has a picture she made And a thousand small things she has saved for the day When your boots cross the floor and your arms hold her tight And she knows you're not leaving her dreams every night You're more than a uniform, more than a name And this house will remember the love that you gave [Outro] Mama set the table for four We'll keep your place beside the door Come home when you can Come home safe There's still a chair And a place at the table
