Stay a little longer

[Intro – a cappella barbershop quartet, warm close harmony, no instruments] Evening on the porch, honey-colored sky, Daylight folding low while the swallows fly. One lamp in the window, one breeze through the vine, And the whole wide world feels easy for a time. [Verse 1 – lead melody with close quartet backing, soft and nostalgic] There’s a chair that still remembers how you lean, There’s a gate that gives a little when the evening’s clean. Old boards underfoot and the screen door sighs, And the light goes slow in your kind brown eyes. [Chorus – full four-part barbershop harmony, bright and heartfelt] Stay a little longer, Don’t let the night come fast. Let the good talk linger, Let the soft hours last. Heart next to heart, While the crickets start, And the day slips gently through— Stay a little longer, With me on this porch with you. [Verse 2 – intimate lead with richer harmony answers] We ain’t got much thunder, we ain’t got much gold, Just the comfort of a story that we’ve told and told. Sweet tea gone warm and the shadows grown tall, And your laugh like a bell in the hush of it all. [Chorus – full quartet, fuller and warmer] Stay a little longer, Don’t let the night come fast. Let the good talk linger, Let the soft hours last. Heart next to heart, While the crickets start, And the day slips gently through— Stay a little longer, With me on this porch with you. [Bridge – tender suspended harmony, no instruments] If tomorrow brings its worries, We can meet them when they come. Tonight the stars are early, And the whole world’s gone soft and young. [Final Chorus – widest close harmony, warm ringing tag] Stay a little longer, Don’t let the night come fast. Let the good talk linger, Let the soft hours last. Heart next to heart, While the crickets start, And the day slips gently through— Stay a little longer, With me on this porch with you. [Tag – classic barbershop held close chord, a cappella] On this porch... with you.