Verse 1 M: Up on Ardmore Avenue, before the story had a name, Anne searched through the house for bottles, Bob swore tomorrow he would change. D: Every promise sounded honest, every morning proved it false. M: Friends stopped coming, invitations disappeared. The woman born for hospitality learned to close the door in fear. Pre-Chorus D: He read the books. M: She said the prayers. D: He searched for something more. Both: Sometimes the answer we are seeking comes walking through the door. Chorus Both: Twelve steps to Ardmore’s door, twelve steps to come home, to a house that learned through suffering no one heals alone. The bottles left their hiding places, the coffee pot stayed warm, and the door once closed by heartache opened wider than before. Come carrying your sorrow, come just as you are— climb those twelve steps, open the door: Welcome home. Verse 2 M: There were years when food was scarce, when the money disappeared, when a Christmas gift looked beautiful but groceries mattered more that year. D: Bob searched through saints and Scripture, through every answer he could find. M: Then another drunk sat down beside him— Both: and spoke a language of his kind. Chorus Both: Twelve steps to Ardmore’s door, twelve steps to come home, to a house that learned through suffering no one heals alone. The bottles left their hiding places, the coffee pot stayed warm, and the door once closed by heartache opened wider than before. Come carrying your sorrow, come just as you are— climb those twelve steps, open the door: Welcome home. Verse 3 D: Then the coffee started brewing. M: And another chair appeared. D: Somebody came in shaking. M: Somebody came in scared. D: Somebody needed someone who already understood. M: And Anne, who once searched for bottles, now searched the cupboards for food. Bridge D: One alcoholic to another. M: One family helping one more. D: One suffering heart telling another— Both: I have been where you are. No throne. No pulpit. No grand design. Just an open hand, an open heart, an open door. Final Chorus Both: Twelve steps to Ardmore’s door, twelve steps to come home, to a house that learned through suffering no one heals alone. The bottles left their hiding places, the coffee pot stayed warm, and the latch that once guarded sorrow stayed open from then on. And every time we welcome the one trembling at the door, the old miracle begins again— there is room for one more. Outro M: Keep the coffee ready. D: Leave an empty chair. M: Listen for the message. D: Do the next right thing. Both: Twelve steps to the doorway. Open the door. Welcome home.
