[Verse 1] Mama left the porch light burning after ten, said, “You never know who might come home again.” Moths threw their bodies at that yellow glow, while she waited up for people who already chose to go. Coffee in the morning, curtains opened wide, she never called it waiting, but I knew she lied. I guess a girl learns love by watching it at night— I learned mine underneath that porch light. [Chorus] So I became the porch light, burning through the dark, making myself easy for the lost to find my heart. Never asked where they had wandered, never counted what it cost, just kept saying, “You can come home,” to everybody getting lost. I thought love meant staying visible so nobody missed the sight. Nobody ever told me I could turn off the porch light. [Verse 2] I fed people dinner while they starved me thin, held the door wide open, let the cold come in. Kept a spare key underneath a chipped-out stone, got so good at being refuge I forgot I needed home. I forgave every leaving before they even left, made a virtue out of giving till there wasn’t nothing left. And every time somebody disappeared from sight, I just burned a little brighter every night. [Chorus] So I became the porch light, burning through the dark, making myself easy for the lost to find my heart. Never asked where they had wandered, never counted what it cost, just kept saying, “You can come home,” to everybody getting lost. I thought love meant staying visible so nobody missed the sight. Nobody ever told me I could turn off the porch light. [Bridge] A light ain’t a promise that the door stays unlocked, and love ain’t waiting barefoot past twelve o’clock. If they know where you are, they know where you’ve been— you don’t have to burn brighter to make them come in. [Final Chorus] I was somebody’s porch light, burning through the dark, letting every leaving take another piece of heart. Now the key ain’t underneath there, and I sleep just fine at night. Some folks will call that bitter. I finally call it right. There are people worth the welcome, there are doors I’ll open wide— but I don’t have to burn forever just to prove that I’m inside.
