My grandmother was diagnosed
when I was 29.
Her Parkinson's was mild
so we thought that she had time,
but as I sat next to her hospice bed
drinkin' smuggled in red wine
I looked into her eyes and saw
the pain she held inside.
In just under two years she'd gone
from strong to thin and frail.
This once furious woman, now,
unable to prevail
against what stood in front of her,
so, with one lucid inhale, she said
“Always do your best, my boys
To be there for each other when you fail.”
We all will fail. We all will cry.
So raise your glass, and raise it high!
Lift up your voice. Shout to the sky.
And know this, too, will soon pass by.
My grandfather fell ill one day
when I was just 13.
He'd been a smoker all his life,
but the X-Ray came back clean.
A tobacco farming country boy
from Western Kentucky.
but cancer can strike anywhere
you'll never be ready.
It came on quick, it came on hard.
In only six months time
Everyone who knew the man
could see the end was nigh.
And when we kissed him on the cheek
and said our last goodbyes,
and laid his body in the ground,
all we could do was cry.
We all will fail. We all will cry.
So raise your glass, and raise it high!
Lift up your voice. Shout to the sky.
And know this, too, will soon pass by.
The first call came in around 8,
I reached for the landline.
Our family is thick as thieves
so everything seemed fine,
and muffled sobs over the phone
ain't much to a boy of nine,
but by the seventh time it rang,
I knew something wasn't right.
The cops showed up, our folks got home,
and they took them aside.
I could not make out the name he said,
but I heard my mother's cries.
A fatal gunshot to the head
for this soon-to-be bride,
and when they said ”your aunt is dead”
the child in me died.
We all will fail. We all will cry.
So raise your glass, and raise it high!
Lift up your voice. Shout to the sky.
And know this, too, will soon pass by.
credits
from One Short Ride,
track released April 20, 2020
Music by: The Longest Hall
Lyrics by: Zac Hall
Produced by: Gustavo Porras
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