Angels Don't Cry

Intro

Sun on the grass, the truck sits quiet, tailgate down

A folded flag on the hood, a hymn drifting out from the town

Spring air smells like cut hay and old coffee on the stove

They step out slow, they step out soft, where the garden used to grow

Verse

Mama's on her knees in the yard, she pulls the girl close, tucks her chin

Dirt on the hem of her Sunday dress, kneeling where the laughter's been

Little boy on the porch steps, head buried in his hands, he rocks

He doesn't look up when his mother walks by — the world just stopped the clock

She passes him slow, she passes the girl, she moves like she's walking through fog

In the doorway there's a man in uniform, and he's hollow like a song

He watches them breathe, watches them bend — he's there but no one sees

Warm spring sunlight paints the scene, the wind smells like rosemary

Pre-chorus

He folds his hands and thinks of home, a kitchen table, scraped up smiles

A scraped knee kissed, a bedtime tale, reading letters, counting miles

He says under his breath, low, like a prayer he can't quite place

"Angels don't cry for me, don't cry for me," he says, looking at their faces

Chorus

Angels don't cry for me, no, they don't weep when I go

My little ones, they laugh and run — they're the light I know (oh-oh)

Angels don't cry for me, don't let that river flow (don't cry)

They're my reason, they're my hands, let them keep on growing (let them grow)

verse - rap

(yeah) I remember Sunday mornings with mama's coffee and the radio hum (yuh)

Kid on my knee, alphabet blocks, watching the dust in a sunbeam come (ayy)

Name on the mailbox, paint chipped, tire swing with a frayed rope knot

I swore I fought for a future, felt the weight, but didn't see the cost (no)

Boots on the floor at zero dark, letters stamped and folded twice

Promise made in a bunk room, whispered loud into the night (whispered)

I prayed to be the man they could lean on, to give 'em a porch to stand on

Now I'm watching from the doorway, their song keeps marching on (on)

Mama's hands hold the girl like a heartbeat, humming lullabies she knows (she knows)

Boy on the steps with his palms to his face, trying not to let it show

I see my wife walk past, eyes flat, like a map she's learning again

She don't see me in the doorway, she don't feel where I begin and end

Man, I ain't the only ghost around, there's a weight of names on a stone

But every time she breathes for them I know I ain't truly alone

I think about the small things — scraped knees, the fishing line we threw

The promise to be back by supper, the small town bar with its neon blue (uh)

If I could pick one memory, it'd be mama laughing after rain

She'd pull me close, tell me stories, teach me how to bear the pain (bear it)

Now I step through my own hallway, watch them fold into the light

An angel stands with folded wings, looks like judgement at first sight (look)

He don'