[Verse 1] We cut my uncle's flannel shirts Into squares of red and blue My sister sewed the edges straight While I pinned every corner through Our bus driver was retiring After twenty-seven years She'd kept spare gloves for winter mornings And a cloth to wipe our tears [Pre-Chorus] By Friday night the quilt was done We packed it up before the sun [Chorus] Tailgate quilt parade Every square a thank-you made Roll it out and let her see All the little years she carried me Blue for school days, red for home Stitches strong enough to roam Tailgate quilt parade We're giving back a little of the way [Verse 2] The schoolyard filled with bicycles And lunchboxes on the wall She pulled her yellow bus around And didn't know we'd come at all We spread the quilt across the tailgate She found a square from her old coat Then read the names stitched in the border And held the last one near her throat [Chorus] Tailgate quilt parade Every square a thank-you made Roll it out and let her see All the little years she carried me Blue for school days, red for home Stitches strong enough to roam Tailgate quilt parade We're giving back a little of the way [Instrumental - guitar and fiddle, eight bars] [Bridge] She said, I thought you all forgot The turn I took behind the mill We said, you knew each child by name And we remember that road still [Final Chorus] Tailgate quilt parade Every square a thank-you made Roll it out and let her see All the little years she carried me Blue for school days, red for home Stitches strong enough to roam Tailgate quilt parade Now she can take our thanks away [Outro] She folded it beside her seat And drove her last route smiling.
