We Kept the Team for Life

[Verse 1] Coach raines still knows the number on each shirt, Though half of us have silver at the sides. He taps the old brass whistle on the table, And says, “that final inning took its time.” We grin about the bus ride back at midnight, The pennant held between us like a flag. Then danny says he kept the scorebook all these years, And passes it around beneath the string lights. [Pre-Chorus] We were seventeen, sure we had it figured, Till the last play asked us all to trust. [Chorus] We were a team before we knew what that could mean, One call, one hand, one chance to make it count. That summer crown was bright, but what it left between us Outlasted every scoreboard in this town. Coach, look around—here we are, still standing, Different roads, the same old friends beside us. We won one night; we kept the team for life. [Verse 2] Rico drove in from the coast before the traffic, Mark came straight from closing up his shop. June brought her son, who’s headed off to college; Coach asked him if he’s learned to take a loss. We trade the names of all the plays we botched, And praise the one that turned the game around. Coach raines just laughs: “you boys were never easy,” Then says he’d choose us if he coached right now. [Pre-Chorus] We were seventeen, and every voice mattered; No one crossed that line alone. [Chorus] We were a team before we knew what that could mean, One call, one hand, one chance to make it count. That summer crown was bright, but what it left between us Outlasted every scoreboard in this town. Coach, look around—here we are, still standing, Different roads, the same old friends beside us. We won one night; we kept the team for life. [Bridge] He says the season ended on a tuesday, But the best part never had a final score. When one of us gets called into the hard times, The others show up like they did before. [Final chorus] We were a team before we knew what that could mean, One call, one hand, one chance to make it count. That summer crown was bright, but what it left between us Outlasted every scoreboard in this town. Coach, look around—here we are, still standing, Different roads, the same old friends beside us. We won one night; we kept the team for life. We won one night; we kept the team for life. [Outro] Coach raines lifts his glass and says our names; We answer like a team again.