The Day After - A1

THE DAY AFTER

Poverty’s Reign

Verse 1

Ninety miles to Kemp, Texas
And a lifetime in between
Two old boys who once knew everything
Now comparing what we’ve seen

His house was fighting back the years
The years were winning, I could tell
That dog had left a few opinions
And the air could raise the dead

I thought about the road back home
And the bed I’d left behind
Then I saw my old friend Shon again
And the road slipped from my mind

Chorus

So here’s to the day after
And the nights we somehow get through
To the friends who don’t need fixing
Just somebody sitting there with you

You can call it Christian kindness
You can call it paying your dues
But a sacrifice ain’t a sacrifice
When there’s nothing else you’d rather do

Verse 2

We burned the brush beneath the stars
And let the old days roll
Pool halls, smoke, and cheap philosophy
And laughter taking its toll

He’d taken every wrong turn
Like a man who knew the way
Life kept dealing him the hard hand
He kept showing up to play

There were years inside that double-wide
That I could never understand
But he was standing in his own front yard
A proud and battered man

Chorus

So here’s to the day after
And the nights we somehow get through
To the friends who don’t need fixing
Just somebody sitting there with you

You can call it Christian kindness
You can call it paying your dues
But a sacrifice ain’t a sacrifice
When there’s nothing else you’d rather do

Verse 3

Virgil had his Bible
And Charlene had faith to spare
They believed the Lord was watching
And they tried to show they cared

I never quite got comfortable
With the certainty they knew
But I learned a thing about their faith
That maybe still holds true

You don’t have to see the heavens
Or agree on who’s above
To stand beside a fallen friend
And call the act of kindness love

Bridge — half-spoken, darkly amused

Now when the poor inherit the earth
And the old elite come down
I hope they keep a guest list
For the fools who stuck around

I’ll claim I knew a king once
Before he wore the crown
He had a dog, a battered couch
And a house that might burn down

Final Chorus

Here’s to the day after
To the smoke that disappears
To the friends who knew us young and wild
And still can find us here

No halo and no sermon
No grand gesture to prove
Just an old friend in a hard place
And an old friend who came through

You can call it Christian kindness
You can call it what you choose
But a sacrifice ain’t a sacrifice
When there’s nothing else you’d rather do

Outro — spoken over fading guitar

Ninety miles back home.

A little smoke in my clothes.

A few less nostril hairs.

And one more reason
to be glad I’m not rich in friends.