The Sapling in the Tin

[Instrumental Intro]

[Verse 1]

My father sold the orchard in the spring

Three hundred trees he planted with his hands

I signed the papers at a kitchen table

He watched me write my name

And never said a thing

[Pre-Chorus]

So I drove the truck to town

Signed away the land

Told myself the money made us free

[Chorus]

But the roots don't know they're gone

The roots don't know they're gone

They keep reaching underground

For a sky they won't see

[Verse 2]

Two winters passed before I understood

He'd kept one sapling in a coffee tin

Watered it on the windowsill each morning

Named it for my mother

Who had died the year before

[Pre-Chorus]

I found it in the shed

Bent and pale and small

And I finally heard the words he couldn't say

[Chorus]

That the roots don't know they're gone

The roots don't know they're gone

They keep reaching underground

For a sky they won't see

[Guitar Solo]

[Bridge]

I dug a hole behind the barn

Planted what was left of him

Told my son this tree is older than your name

[Breakdown]

(Older than your name)

(Older than your name)

[Final Chorus]

Now the roots are learning how to stay

The roots are learning how to stay

Reaching up through darker ground

Toward a light I finally see

[Post-Chorus]

Grow with me

Grow with me

Grow with me