(Slow electric guitar. Dry snare. Warm baritone vocal.) Verse 1 My mother kept the curtains open. Said, “You never know who’s gone.” My father shaved before the sunrise, Like someone checking he belonged. They came with two hard suitcases, One wedding ring, one borrowed coat. They never talked about the fences. You could hear them in the pauses, though. By October I knew enough English To lose a fight without a bruise. Kids laughed every time attendance Reached the place they couldn’t use. I walked home past the flagpole, Past houses with sprinklers running free. Wondered how a place so generous Could still make room for me. Chorus I learned this country one paycheck at a time, One borrowed chance, one second try. Everything my parents prayed for Was hanging just above my eyes. Still every full plate asked a question. Every new key turned like a knife. How much of someone else’s hunger Is hidden in a comfortable life? ⸻ Verse 2 I met a girl who never flinched When my grandmother kissed her cheek. She asked about the old black numbers Tattooed where sleeves ran weak. She never called them history. She called them names she’d like to know. So we filled our house with stories My parents feared would never grow. ⸻ Bridge My father bought American cars. My mother clipped every coupon twice. Neither one could throw away bread. Neither one trusted easy nights. ⸻ Chorus I learned this country one handshake at a time, One open door, one careful yes. Found more kindness than I’d counted. Found more wanting than I’d guessed. If luck is only timing, Then whose clock carried mine? If freedom filled my pockets, Who was standing farther down the line? ⸻ Final Verse Now my children speak too quickly For my parents to keep pace. They know the anthem by heart. They barely know the old place. Sometimes I envy both generations. One remembers. One forgets. I’m somewhere in the middle, Still paying debts Nobody ever sent. Outro The old folks used to say, “Don’t waste our lives.”
