Ray

Ray was my father’s brother. He died before I was born. This song may be all that’s left of him now.

Ray died on his twentieth birthday
Long before I was born
It was a tree that killed him
It was not the war
His brother was a war hero
He was just a kid
It wasn’t a plane he crashed
It was just a car

Aunt Frances went a little crazy
People want what they want
I used to blame her for it
But these days I don’t
She didn’t choose the path she trod
Anymore than I
Madness soothes the blistered soul
Maybe that’s the point

Chorus:
It’s just a day like any other
My goodness it’s hot in June
Does anyone remember
The ones that leave so soon
Can anyone forget about
All the ghosts here in the room

I kept watch with my father’s father
And watched him suffer twice
I hoped for words of comfort
But silence would suffice
What you hold dear will fade away
Sooner than you’d like
Until every sound ever made
Sounds just like goodbye

Cigarettes finally killed my dad
The way the war had tried
The last thing he gave to me
This old pocket knife
I hold it like it lives and breathes
It’s all I have left
Of the things that mattered most
In some other life

Bridge:
Would it have been different
If he hadn’t swerved
We seek a life that’s straight and true
But all we get are curves

Chorus:
It’s just a day like any other
My goodness it’s hot in June
Does anyone remember
The ones that leave so soon
Does anyone forget about
All the ghosts here in the room