she is a mother who gave me a father
her name is norma jean
bill was a deacon after he quit drinking
he married her when she was sixteen
he moved her out west when the greatest depression
chased them, they escaped by the skin of their teeth
i watched him adore her, do everything for her
he carried her purse, and he watched her sleep
 
64 times they circled sun til he shot off the earth
like a rubber band gun
her soul folded up like a thin paper plane
waiting for takeoff to see him again
the man of her dreams, the man in her dreams
 
i’m a granddaughter who lost my grandfather
my name is lindsay ann
meaningless moments turn into memories
he picked me up from school in a mercury sedan
what I’ll most miss is the forehead kisses
cause I grew up taller than my family tree
he left me a lesson that kindness is best you can
survive a hard life with no enemies
 
32 times we circled the sun til he shot off the earth
like a rubber band gun i got
no right to complain, no reason to cry
he told me to relax, let the world go by
the man of my dreams (repeat)
the man in my dreams

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*co-written with Veronica May
(in standard key - different than recording)
​Verse: ​C Am Dm G  // C Bb A Dm  G G7
Chorus: F C Am Em F // F C-B-Am Dm G C
Bridge: Em F Em F G // C E7 Am C // Dm D7 G G7
Last Chorus: F C Am Em F // F C-B-A7 Dm G C // Dm G C

somewhere out in Colorado upon the plains
thirty miles east of Denver where it barely rains
there's an old abandoned house down on fetzer st.
where music used to rise out of the ivory piano keys
flower patterned wallpaper withered all away
grandpa's black boots faded all to gray
closet full of dresses that grammy always wore
and a square cut in the carpet leading to cellar door

beyond the cellar door
the shelves are all reserved
for rows and rows of mason jars
filled up with preserves
the memories remain 
though life lives there no more
bottle up, just like the jam beyond the cellar door

grandpa played the fiddle though his fingers were too wide
mama sang with grammy side by side 
now the air is still and stale, the fiddle's in its case
ain't it sad how so much nothing can fill up so much space
seven in the morning, 1959
breakfast on the table, the house was in its prime
grandpa zips his black boots up to start his daily chores
while grammy places another jar beyond the cellar door
 
like the square cut in that carpet
there's two now in the ground
rows and rows just like those
just like any other town
i know my time will come
and i wonder what's in store
beyond this life
beyond the grave
beyond the cellar door

*2nd/3rd verses co-written with Veronica May (1st verse and choruses cover Gospel song of the same name - Lindsay's grandparents Ollie & Bethel can be heard in recording)
 
a land removed from sickness pain and sorrow
no death, no theft, no aching, no more greed
no sad goodbyes but only glad reunions
oh this is just what heaven means to me

what will it be, when we get over yonder
and join the throng upon the glassy sea
to greet our loved ones and sing with them forever
oh this is just what heaven means to me

a people that have minds of understanding
and eyes that follow suit in what they see
they follow all the passages on love
oh this is just what heaven means to me

a swaying eucalyptus on the hillside
where lovebirds sit and sing their melody
surrounded by the people who we love most
oh this is just what heaven means to me

*Co-write with Veronica May. (first verse lyrics corrected - we got it backwards in the video)
​
she was late to church one day
and they need someone had to play
so he picked up her guitar right when she pulled up in her car
bethel and ollie met that day
 
they were full of love (bethel and ollie)
they were full of light (bethel and ollie)
he was more than a husband (bethel and ollie)
she was more than a wife (true love)
they were true to their vows (bethel and ollie)
til the day the died (always falling)
bethel and ollie always falling into love
 
he tended to their fields as she tended to their home
they intended to give love and had five children of their own
camping in the summers, cotton in the spring
and in the fall they were falling

when my grandpa died, i think he might
have taken happiness with him
everything turned gray, colors washed away
god refused to listen
when my mom and dad finally got so sad
they had to end their union
it opened up my eyes, made me realize
they are only human
 
people say that love is the only answer
but i know they’ve got to be wrong
because this love’s my only question
where is my love, why is it gone?
 
when i left my home, i felt so alone
fair weather friends turned their backs
such a scary thought to go from having a lot
to living out of plastic bags
now i feel so strange and i know it will change
who i am forever
knocks the wind from me, brings me to my knees
turns me into a beggar