[Verse 1] You said you saw me first that June, Three months before we ever spoke, You'd already made a place for me Somewhere inside your heart and hope. I was young and didn't know What a lifetime looked like then, Just finding my way through those days We met beneath those garden trees, You wore pink beneath the sky, You said, "I only want a friend," But I could see forever in your eyes. So I sang beneath your window When the campus lights went dim, And chased you laughing through the rain I think that's when I fell all in. [Pre-Chorus] Then Christmas lights on Cincinnati snow, Two hearts with nowhere else to go, And somewhere between that night and spring, I knew you were my everything. [Chorus] Babe, I'd carve your name in Virginia sand again, I'd leave the only home I knew Just to find my way to you again. Through the Navy, through the miles, Through the years that came and went, I'd choose you in a heartbeat, I'd choose you all over again. If they gave me one more lifetime, I'd spend every day the same— I'd find you, I'd fall for you, And I'd call your name. That's how much I love you, That's the only way I know to say. [Verse 2] We started with a couple dreams And nothing much to our name, San Diego heat behind us, Virginia calling us again. Then Kentucky became home, And our little family grew First a son, then came a daughter, Then another dream came true. Then a boy who needed somewhere He could finally call his own, So we opened up our family And he never stood alone. Six of us around that table, Where it once was only two, And every road I ever traveled Was better because of you. [Pre-Chorus] We didn't have a map to follow, Didn't know where life would lead, We just kept holding on together, One day, one prayer, one need. [Chorus] Babe, I'd carve your name in Virginia sand again, I'd leave the only home I knew Just to find my way to you again. Through the Navy, through the miles, Through the years that came and went, I'd choose you in a heartbeat, I'd choose you all over again. If they gave me one more lifetime, I'd spend every day the same I'd find you, I'd fall for you, And I'd call your name. That's how much I love you, That's the only way I know to say. [Bridge] There were nights I prayed beside you, With my hands held tight in fear, "God, please don't take her from me, I've still got so many years." Two others never made it home, And I couldn't lose you too, So I held on a little harder And thanked God for getting us through. You still mix up all our names, Still call me your stupid boy, But you won't let me walk out that door Without that kiss, without that joy. And now seven little voices Call you Grandma when they run, But if they ask who loves you most, I'll still say, "I was here first, son." [Quiet Breakdown] Thirty-six Septembers... Can you believe how fast they went? That girl beneath the garden trees Became my whole life in the end. And if tomorrow took away Every picture, every place, I'd still have that first time I saw forever on your face. [Final Chorus] Babe, I'd carve your name in any sand again, I'd walk away from everything Just to find you at the end. I'd live the Navy miles again, I'd face every storm and bend, I'd take the tears, I'd take the years, I'd take it all again. Give me one more September, Give me one more morning light, Give me one more chance to hold you And tell you I got it right. I'd find you in that garden, I'd fall in love the same, I'd spend another lifetime Just learning how to say your name. Sandy, after all these years, You're still the one I choose. And if loving you is all I get, Then I've got nothing left to lose. [Outro] So if heaven gives me one more life, I know exactly what I'll do... I'll go looking for that girl in pink, And I'll spend it all with you. That's how much I love you, God... that's how much I love you.
