[Instrumental Intro] [Fiddle introduces the melody; pedal steel answers. Acoustic guitar, bass, and drums settle into a gentle two-step.] [Verse 1] The county fair was closing down, Your shift was finally through; I had two tickets for the wheel And saved the last ride for you. You laughed when I held out my hand, Said, “Boy, you’re scared of heights.” I said, “I’d climb a whole lot higher For a girl with eyes that bright.” [Pre-Chorus] I drove you home the long way, Past the grain elevator lights; You kissed me once beside your door, Said, “See you Friday night.” [Chorus] That’s where the good love grows, A little at a time, In a kiss before the workday And your hand holding mine. Your coat beside my old one, Two cups beside the stove, A thousand little reasons I keep hurrying home. Every day, we put down deeper roots Where the good love grows. [Instrumental Turnaround] [Telecaster plays a short answering phrase; steel guitar carries the last note into the verse.] [Verse 2] That rented house on County Six Had a roof that wouldn’t hold; You set a mixing bowl beneath The leak and called it home. When the factory cut my hours, You pulled your chair to mine, Said, “We’ll work it out together,” Then you kissed me one more time. [Pre-Chorus] Now there’s crayons on the table And a height mark by the door; You’re laughing with our little girl, And I fall for you once more. [Chorus] That’s where the good love grows, A little at a time, In a kiss before the workday And your hand holding mine. Your coat beside my old one, Two cups beside the stove, A thousand little reasons I keep hurrying home. Every day, we put down deeper roots Where the good love grows. [Instrumental Interlude] [Eight-bar fiddle and pedal steel exchange. Piano adds gentle fills while the rhythm section maintains the groove.] [Bridge] We’ve said things across this table That we wish we hadn’t said; But we learned to say, “I’m sorry,” And hold each other instead. You still save a place beside you, I still pull my chair up close; It’s the little things we keep on doing Where the good love grows. [Final Chorus] [Full band returns; close harmonies lift the melody.] That’s where the good love grows, A little at a time, In a kiss before the workday And your hand holding mine. Your coat beside my old one, Two cups beside the stove, A thousand little reasons I keep hurrying home. Every day, we put down deeper roots Where the good love grows. [Outro] [Drums soften; acoustic guitar and steel remain beneath the vocal.] From that last ride at the county fair To this life we call our own, I still reach out for your hand, girl, Where the good love grows. [Instrumental Ending] [Fiddle reprises the opening melody. Pedal steel resolves gently over a final G chord.]
