Legacy of Laughter

[Intro] [Verse] The house got quiet after you left Like somebody killed the sound No jokes around the dinner table No laughing shaking up the house Grandpa's puns don't hit the same When noone's there to groan And Dad's old jokes got lost somewhere Between the punchline and the moans I still remember those stupid things That never should've made us laugh The inside jokes no one else knew The punchlines we'd forgot to ask For a while I thought the laughter Had gone with who we'd lost Like smiling meant that I forgot them Like joy somehow betrayed the cost So I kept my head down And let the silence stay Until a memory came knocking And stole a little sadness away [Pre-Chorus] Then I heard your voice inside my head Saying something I can't repeat I tried so hard not to laugh... But damn it— It's got me beat [Chorus] Laugh a little louder Smile a little more Keep the memories alive Like we've done a thousand times before Laugh a little louder Let the good times roll They may be gone from our world But they ain't gone from our souls Hey! That's the legacy... That's the legacy of laughter. [Verse] Sometimes it's something stupid Like a phrase you used to say Or somebody tells a terrible joke And suddenly I see your face Sometimes I hear your favorite song And I know exactly what you'd do You'd make that face and shake your head Then I'd laugh because I knew And for a moment you're beside me Like the years have disappeared The room gets just a little brighter And the silence disappears Then the laughter turns to aching And the smile becomes a tear Because the funniest memories Can hurt the most when you're not here But I'd rather have that moment Than forget the way it used to be So I'll take the joy with all the pain Because that's what it means to me [Pre-Chorus] And every time that memory hits I swear I hear you say: "Don't you dare start laughing..." So I laugh anyway. [Chorus] Laugh a little louder Smile a little more Keep the memories alive Like we've done a thousand times before Laugh a little louder Let the good times roll They may be gone from this world But they ain't gone from our souls Hey! That's the legacy... That's the legacy of laughter. [Verse] So here's to every bad joke Every nickname and dumb grin Every time somebody laughed so hard They couldn't catch their breath again Here's to kitchen-table stories Here's to nights we can't forget Here's to all the little moments That we haven't lost quite yet Because a life ain't only measured By the day somebody dies It's the smiles they leave behind them It's the light they leave in other's eyes And when somebody tells that story Twenty years from now I'll be the one who's laughing first And I'll tell them how They'll never know the way you laughed Or the trouble you could start But I'll tell them every damn detail And keep you in my heart [Bridge] Guitars drop into a heavy half-time groove. Lap steel sustains over the top. You can take the photographs... You can take the house... You can take the things we held... But that laughter never died. You can take the years... You can take the time... But every time we laugh again... You're still alive. [Final Chorus] LAUGH A LITTLE LOUDER! SMILE A LITTLE MORE! KEEP THE MEMORIES ALIVE LIKE WE'VE DONE A THOUSAND TIMES BEFORE! LAUGH A LITTLE LOUDER! LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL! THEY MAY BE GONE FROM THIS WORLD BUT THEY AIN'T GONE FROM OUR SOULS! HEY! That's the legacy! HEY! That's the legacy! HEY! That's the legacy of laughter! [Outro.]