Lyrics
[Verse 1] You left your blue coat on the kitchen chair A paper map was folded in the pocket there The kettle clicked, the afternoon went still Dust settled softly on the windowsill [Pre-Chorus] I found your note beneath the grocery list Three crooked words I never learned to miss [Chorus] If you come back, come by the old front gate Where the apple tree leans and the paint has aged I’ll keep one chair beside the firelight For the years we lost and the roads we might [Verse 2] The record skips at the same familiar turn Your coffee cup still waits beside the fern I took the long way past the county fair The ferris wheel was turning empty air [Pre-Chorus] A harmonica cried from a passing train And for one small mile, you were here again [Chorus] If you come back, come by the old front gate Where the apple tree leans and the paint has aged I’ll keep one chair beside the firelight For the years we lost and the roads we might [Bridge] Maybe home is not a place we find Maybe it’s the shape you leave behind In the worn-out steps, the cedar floor In the hand that still reaches for the door [Final Chorus] If you come back, come by the old front gate Even if the morning has arrived too late I’ll keep one chair beside the firelight For the love we held and the roads we might [Outro] The kettle cools, the evening settles in I fold the map and start the song again
