Title: “The House on Willow Bend”

Title: “The House on Willow Bend” Verse 1 There’s a house on Willow Bend with a porch that leans White paint peeling like old blue jeans We bought it cheap with a coffee-can dream You said forever like you always mean I planted roses by the front-yard fence You planted doubts you never confessed By the time the first bloom reached the sun You were already halfway gone Chorus So I stayed in the house on Willow Bend Where your love started and your leaving ends Every crack in the wall, every nail, every board Knows a woman can break and still move forward You ran from roots, you couldn’t pretend But I grew strong in Willow Bend Verse 2 First winter came with a busted heater I learned real quick how to be my own keeper Split that wood till my hands turned red Talked to your ghost like you weren’t dead Town folks whispered, “she’ll never last” “Too soft-hearted, too tied to the past” But spring rolled in and the roof held tight And I slept alone… but I slept alright Chorus Yeah I stayed in the house on Willow Bend Where your love started and your leaving ends Every crack in the wall, every nail, every board Knows a woman can break and still move forward You ran from roots, you couldn’t pretend But I grew strong in Willow Bend Bridge Last Sunday you drove back through town New girl smiling in a hand-me-down gown You said, “I guess you’re still here somehow” I just tipped my hat and I’m better now ‘Cause love ain’t leaving, love ain’t pain Love’s what blooms after the rain Final Chorus I stayed in the house on Willow Bend Where your story stopped and mine begins Every crack in the wall, every nail, every board Watched me rebuild what you ignored You ran from roots, you couldn’t pretend But I found myself in Willow Bend Outro There’s a house on Willow Bend still standing tall And a rose in bloom by the old fence wall