[Soft piano & fiddle. Evening by the tavern. Ann alone onstage.] Verse 1 – ANN (gentle, observant) ANN: He walks like he’s not certain that the ground belongs to him, like each step is still a question and the answer’s faint and dim. He laughs like he’s surprised by it, like joy snuck past the door— and his eyes hold whole tomorrows that he’s never asked what for. I see the storm that shaped him, all the hurt he doesn’t say— but I also see a harvest that could change the world someday. [Lincoln enters quietly, hat in hand.] LINCOLN (half joking, half shy): Miss Rutledge, you’re starin’ again. ANN (smiles): Somebody has to. Verse 2 – LINCOLN (awkward, honest) LINCOLN: I’m just a man of lumber, all elbows, boots and knees— I’ve got more scars than manners, and I trip on words like these. The world’s a field of giants with polished coats and names— I’m a railsplitter with questions and a pocket full of flames. But you look at me like maybe I am more than how I’m dressed— like I’m not just built for labor, but for something like the rest. [First Refrain – ANN + LINCOLN] ANN (soft): You’re more than what they’ve told you, Abe— more than where you’re from… LINCOLN: You talk like I could be someone when I feel like I’m no one… BOTH (harmony): And in this little river town where gossip grows like weed— when no one else saw anything… you saw the seed. Verse 3 – ANN (her side of the love) ANN: You bring me books like flowers, like you’re planting in my mind— you say “Ann, there’s worlds in pages that our fathers never find.” You listen when I ramble about thunder, God, and war— and you never call me foolish for wanting something more. I’ve seen men who swing their tempers like an axe without a aim— but you swing your words at justice, and you’re gentle with your blame. Verse 4 – LINCOLN (his side of the love) LINCOLN: You laugh like Sunday morning, like forgiveness wearing shoes. You stitch my fraying edges with the simplest of views. You say, “Abe, don’t fear your shadow, it just means you’ve found the light.” When I’m choking on decisions, you remind me what is right. I’ve buried so much sorrow that I thought my heart was done— then you walked into the tavern and it felt like… I had won. ⭐ CHORUS – FULL DUET BOTH: You saw the seed inside me, when I only saw the dirt. You touched the places in my soul I thought were only hurt. If the world is full of strangers who just take what they can feed— then let me be the man you saw when you saw… the seed. [Instrumental – soft fiddle; they dance a small, shy circle.] Bridge – Time Passing / Illness Approaches ENSEMBLE (soft, under): Seasons turning… Rivers rise… Clouds are gathering in the skies… ANN (a little weaker, still bright): You’ll go further than this village, Abe— I can feel it in my bones. One day you’ll stand before a crowd instead of splitting stones. LINCOLN (uneasy): Don’t talk like you’re not comin’— don’t make futures without you… ANN (smiling through it): I’m just sayin’ when you doubt yourself, remember what I knew. [Ann’s Illness – lights dim colder] Verse 5 – LINCOLN (by her bedside) LINCOLN: Your hand’s so small and burning, like a coal I cannot cool. They say “fevers come and fevers go,” but they never taught that in school. I’d trade every word and rail I’ve split, to keep you in this room— I’d bargain with the heavens just to pull you from this tomb. ANN (weak, but sure): No, Abe… don’t you you dare trade it— promise me you won’t. The world needs what’s inside you, even if you think it don’t. When they put me in the hillside, with the willows and the clay— you keep walking into history and remember what I’d say— Ann’s Solo – Final Vow ANN (soft but clear): “I saw the seed inside you when the world just saw a boy. I saw the way your mercy could turn sorrow into joy. If the pain of all your makings feels too heavy to be freed— then carry me inside your heart— the girl who saw the seed.” (She fades. Music holds.) [Refrain – LINCOLN alone, devastated] LINCOLN: You saw the seed inside me when I only saw the mud. Now the fields are filled with silence and my hands are full of blood. If love was just one summer by a river, by a reed— then why does every road ahead still whisper… she saw the seed. [Final Tag – Duet from different worlds] ANN (echo, distant): You’re more than where you started, Abe… LINCOLN (broken, but growing): Then let me be the man you named… BOTH (overlaid, soft): When no one else saw anything— you saw the seed.
