Spend It While It's Mine

intro

Verse

Mama kept a coffee can

Of pennies by the stove,

Said, "Everything worth keeping, child,

Is something you can't hold."

She'd watch the evening lose its light

Behind the Georgia pine,

And say, "Tomorrow ain't a promise,

So spend today like time."

chorus

'Cause every bell quits ringing,

Every fire turns to coal,

Every hand we've ever held

Someday has to let us go.

I don't know what waits beyond

That last and final line,

But I know life won't last forever—

So I'll spend it while it's mine.

I wasted years on worry,

On what the neighbors knew,

Saving Sunday dresses

For a day that never grew.

Then Daddy's chair went empty,

And his watch stopped keeping time;

I learned you can't save living

Like a dollar or a dime.

'Cause every bell quits ringing,

Every fire turns to coal,

Every hand we've ever held

Someday has to let us go.

I don't know what waits beyond

That last and final line,

But I know life won't last forever—

So I'll spend it while it's mine.

So kiss me in the kitchen,

Call your brother, make amends,

Take the road you're scared of taking,

Tell the truth and love your friends.

Plant the roses, drink the good wine,

Leave no tender word behind;

There'll be time enough for silence

When I'm out of borrowed time.

bridge

I don't need my name in marble,

I don't need the world to know;

If somebody felt more loved

Because I passed along this road,

Then when the door swings open

And I leave this breath behind,

I can say I spent it freely—

Every nickel, every dime.

final chorus

'Cause every bell quits ringing,

Every fire turns to coal,

But love can leave an echo

Long after we let go.

And I don't fear the ending

Like I did when I was young;

A song was never wasted

Just because it had to end.

So when that last light finds me,

And the stars begin to shine,

I hope I'm broke from living—

Having spent this life of mine.

end