Old House on Willow Street

Verse

Porch screen's held together with twine and hope

Grandma's rocking chair still sits by the window slope

You're counting gravel like it's money in a sack

Saying stay one more summer, I'm counting every second back

The creek behind us keeps the same old rhythm

Summer after summer we'd laugh at our own dumb rhythm

But now the water's got your initials on its face

Every little ripple brings me straight to this place

Pre-Chorus

So what do we do with a porch that's still half done?

What kind of promise is it when the paint won't even dry yet?

Do we let the whole town talk before we call it ours?

Or do we just sit here till the crickets are our own?

Chorus

This house ain't ready, but I'm staying for a reason

Some fences need fixing, some fences just need leaving

It's not the paint or the roof that's holding me back

It's the way this porch light still remembers where we're at

Meet me by the swing, don't bring no hammer tonight

Let the whole street see it turning amber in flight

Cause an old house on a hill can teach you patience too

If love's got no timeline but your hand does too

Verse

Your momma's coming over with a box of cookies and glass

Says 'the roof still leaks, child' like it's something I've never passed

You just grin and tell her gravel don't cost nothing to lay

Tell me that this porch is ours for every single day

I drove down yesterday past the old oak by the gate

Left a lantern burning on my windshield so you wouldn't wait

Said come back soon, I said come now, I said it twice in August

Now the summer's fading but your jacket's still got no excuse

Pre-Chorus

So what do we do with a porch that's still half done?

What kind of promise is it when the paint won't even dry yet?

Do we let the whole town talk before we call it ours?

Or do we just sit here till the crickets are our own?

Chorus

This house ain't ready, but I'm staying for a reason

Some fences need fixing, some fences just need leaving

It's not the paint or the roof that's holding me back

It's the way this porch light still remembers where we're at

Meet me by the swing, don't bring no hammer tonight

Let the whole street see it turning amber in flight

Cause an old house on a hill can teach you patience too

If love's got no timeline but your hand does too

Bridge

Maybe home ain't ever finished, maybe that's just how we live

Maybe the beauty's not the finish, it's every little step I give

So don't you wait for the perfect doorframe or the right paint shade

Just pull up on my porch swing like you're never leaving again

Chorus

This house ain't ready, but I'm staying for a reason

Some fences need fixing, some fences just need leaving

It's not the paint or the roof that's holding me back

It's the way this porch light still remembers where we're at

Meet me by the swing, don't bring no hammer tonight

Let the whole street see it turning amber in flight

Cause an old house on a hill can teach you patience too

If love's got no timeline but your hand does too