VHS

[INTRO — VHS cassette clicks into a player. Soft tape hiss, tracking static, faint Christmas morning laughter. Fingerpicked acoustic guitar begins beneath a warm analog keyboard.] [VERSE 1 — MALE SOLO, WARM HIGH-LONESOME COUNTRY] Found a cardboard box of Christmases In a closet down the hall, Handwritten dates on faded labels, Didn’t recognize them all. Put one in the old VCR, Watched the picture roll and bend, Then a little boy came running Through a Christmas morning again. Eight years old and there’s Godzilla, Lord, I nearly lost my mind. Snake Mountain, Castle Grayskull, All the treasures I could find. Wrapping paper flying everywhere, Mama laughing from her chair, And I swear for half a second I forgot that I wasn’t there. [CHORUS — BITTERSWEET MELODIC COUNTRY, GENTLE PEDAL STEEL] On VHS, the colors bleed, The picture shakes, the years rewind. Everybody’s young again, And nobody knows they’re running out of time. There’s a Christmas tree, there’s Mama’s voice, There’s a boy who thinks he’s blessed. I used to watch to see what Santa brought, Now I watch for everything else. [VERSE 2 — GENTLE FIDDLE ENTERS, NOSTALGIC WARMTH] Another tape, another Christmas, I’m a little older now. There’s a drum set in the living room, I’m making quite a racket somehow. Then an electronic keyboard, With a hundred sounds to try, And Mama’s telling everybody That her boy was born to fly. She said, “Play that song again, honey,” And I played it twice as loud. Never knew those little concerts Would become what I’m doing now. I can hear her in the background, Telling someone, “That’s my son.” And I’d trade a thousand stages Just to play her one more one. [CHORUS — FULLER COUNTRY ARRANGEMENT, RESTRAINED EMOTION] On VHS, the colors bleed, The picture shakes, the years rewind. Everybody’s young again, And nobody knows they’re running out of time. There’s a Christmas tree, there’s Mama’s voice, There’s a boy who thinks he’s blessed. I used to watch to see what Santa brought, Now I watch for everything else. [BRIDGE — INSTRUMENTS FALL AWAY, PIANO AND SOFT TAPE HISS] Mama, I wish you could see me now, Hear the songs I learned to sing. All those Christmas morning keyboards Turned into a thousand different things. You never got to hear the records, Never saw how far I’d come. But every time I make some music, I’m still showing you what I’ve done. And I wonder if you knew back then, With that camera in your hand, That you weren’t just filming Christmas. You were saving who I am. [FINAL VERSE — NEAR-WHISPERED, SPARSE ACOUSTIC GUITAR] The tape is almost over now, I know every frame by heart. Mama walks toward the camera, And I know which way she’ll turn. There’s a smile across the picture, Then her hand comes into view. I lean forward like a little boy Who still has something left to prove. [FINAL CHORUS — EMOTIONAL HIGH-LONESOME LIFT, FIDDLE AND PEDAL STEEL] On VHS, the colors bleed, The picture shakes, the years rewind. Everybody’s young again, And nobody knows they’re running out of time. There’s a Christmas tree, there’s Mama’s voice, And a boy who couldn’t guess That the greatest gifts were standing there Behind the things he thought were best. [OUTRO — SOLO GUITAR, TAPE HISS GROWING LOUDER] I used to wish for Godzilla, For a castle and a mountain. Now I’d give them all away For one more Christmas morning. [Softly] Mama, I wish you could see me now. [VHS tape clicks off. Silence.] [END]