River‑Edge Reckoning

Lyrics

[verse 1] He met her where the river turned... The morning pale; the shoreline burned. [Natural breath] She carried honeysuckle’s trace, A quiet warmth he longed to chase. [Natural breath] [Rising voice] They’d meet beneath the leaning pines, Where sunlight thinned in crooked lines... [Natural breath] Her heart would race when he drew near, A love held fast against their fear... [Natural breath] Her days were carved by harsher hands, While he walked through unchallenged lands... Yet when she leaned against his chest, The noise beyond them came to rest. [Refrain] [belting emotional Voice] I’LL LOVE YOU PAST the dark and rain, I’LL LOVE YOU THROUGH the deepest pain. Here where the river curves in shade, Our vow moves softly, unafraid... [Verse 2] They kept their names in hushed retreat, Two hearts concealed on borrowed street. [Natural breath] He breathed her warmth like something rare, Honeysuckle woven in the air... [Natural breath] [Rising voice] They knew the world would hold them down, Its cold decree, its tightened crown... [Natural breath] [Descending tone] Still in the dark they shaped their way, A quiet path they dared to stay. [Natural breath] [Rising voice] A storm rolled in with iron sound, The sky pressed low against the ground. They fled toward where the border shone... [Natural breath] A narrow truth they claimed as home. [Natural breath] [Refrain] I’LL LOVE YOU PAST the dark and rain I’ll Love You Through the deepest pain... Across this wild and trembling land, Our vow holds fast where we both stand. [Bridge] [Instruments fade] So close their eyes drew wide, Freedom now within their sight... [Natural breath] A place where no laws lay bare, To say who's love goes where. [Natural breath] Behind them rose dawn's first light... As judgement’s hooves were taking flight. [Natural breath] The riders closed the final span... Rain on steel and earth on man. [Natural breath] He fired each shot with trembling aim, A single round still left to claim... [Fiddle long and mournful] [Final verse] [Rising emotional voice] He hit the dirt, his breath pulled thin, The bullets burned beneath his skin. She saw the truth behind his eyes... [Natural breath] A breaking world, a severed tie. [Natural breath] [Descending emotional voice] She knelt beside him, took his hand; The storm around them couldn’t stand. She chose to follow where he’d be... [Natural breath] To hold him for eternity. [Natural breath] [Final refrain] [Belting emotional range] I’LL LOVE YOU PAST the dark and rain I’LL LOVE YOU THROUGH the deepest pain. [Natural breath] Though death now walks between our names, Our vow still moves in summer flames.... [Music fades] With love still blowin’ through cypress trees... [Natural breath] [Acapella] On warm, sweet honeysuckle breeze.