Left that house ‘fore the rooster crowed boots by the kitchen door
Coal dust in the creases of a life I’d lived before
She was half asleep in the yellow light hair fallin’ down her back
Said Be safe down there like she always did
As I headed down the track
I cranked that Ford in the mornin’ dark gravel under the tires
Cold fog hangin’ on the hills like smoke from burnin’ fires
Looked up in the rearview glass as I rolled towards Highway three
As she stood in her nightgown there
She was wavin’ from the porch so sweet
She blew me one last kiss in the mornin’ light
Smilin’ through the mountain air
Lord I never knew when I drove away
That the end of my road was there
If I’d known what the good Lord knew
‘Bout the fall of that old mine shaft
I’d have turned that truck around that day
And held that woman fast
Deep in Number Three that day the mountain gave a groan
Timber cracked like thunder rollin’ through the seam of stone
Men came runnin’ lamps gone wild dust black as midnight rain
And somewhere in that broken dark
I whispered her sweet name
Back up on that little hill where the white porch boards still stand
Two shiny trucks came crawlin’ slow like sorrow on the land
She saw ’em from the window there heart already knew
Opened up that creakin’ door
When the company men came through
She gave me my last kiss in the mornin’ light
Smilin’ soft and unaware
Never dreamin’ when I drove away
That the end of my road was there
And the mountains took what they always take
From the men who dig down deep
Leavin’ love standin’ in the doorway
Blowin’ kisses to a memory
She fell down hard on that old porch floor
When the words finally came
Kids came runnin’ Momma what’s wrong
But nothin’ was the same
And the hills went quiet around that house
Like the wind refused to blow
Just a memory in a rearview glass
From a mile of road ago
But that last sweet kiss in the mornin’ light
Still lives where her heart still stands
Not the dust not the grief not the breakin’ news
From the company man’s cold hands
‘Cause the last thing she ever saw of me
Was a smile as I drove past
And a miner’s wife still holds that kiss
Like it’s love that always lasts
Yeah the last thing she ever gave that day
Before the whistle blew
Was a kiss on the wind from the porch light glow
And a love that still rings true
“The Last Kiss” is track number 1 on the Thumper Barrel album, Stump Water.
Track: The Last Kiss
Album: Stump Water
ISRC: QZTAW2631100
ASCAP: 935303409