The Kettle Cooled

Lyrics

[Verse 1] You left your coat beside the kitchen chair A paper map still folded in the sleeve Your mother kept the kettle warm for you As if the door could open any minute [Verse 2] Across the field, the orchard lost its rows The school bell cracked beneath the falling stone A photograph was pulled from broken glass Two smiling faces no one could take home [Chorus] No one wins when the young are buried No flag can cover what the earth remembers Every medal weighs like a brother's name And every marching song ends in the same silence [Verse 3] The river carried ash beneath the bridge A nurse wrote birthdays on a cardboard wall She learned to hold a stranger's trembling hand Then watched the winter take them one by one [Chorus] No one wins when the young are buried No flag can cover what the earth remembers Every medal weighs like a brother's name And every marching song ends in the same silence [Bridge] If you hear a child ask why the houses burned Don't give them stories dressed in gold Say the truth: we failed to stop the fire Say their hands were never meant to hold a gun [Final Chorus] No one wins when the young are buried No flag can cover what the earth remembers Let the living lay their weapons down Let the empty chairs be reason enough [Outro] Your coat is still beside the kitchen chair The kettle cooled before you came home