RESILIENT HEART

I was driving’ down Highway 108 one wintry Christmas Eve
I was headed into Clarksville, was gonna buy our evergreens
The boys were rolling snowmen, as I pulled out of the drive
And Claire was hanging holly by the fireside

I saw a Jaguar up ahead, spun out off the road
The warning lights were flashin’, and a lady stood in the cold
I stopped to give assistance, to offer her a ride
But when she turned and looked at me in shocked surprise

Chorus I

I couldn’t speak, couldn’t talk
Felt a big lump in my throat
A familiar pain wrapped around me like a cloak
Through the years, through the miles
An old hurt had survived
And the hardest times I ever had
Came when she said goodbye

Those brown eyes looked right through me
As she regained her control
She always was unflappable
She smiled and said “hello”
Her hair was cut much shorter
Since the days we shared our lives
And I had to smile when I heard her say
“you’re right on time”

I took her to the Mobile station
Asked them for a tow
And we talked about how young we were
Those many years ago
I told her of my mission
That I was pressed for time
She said she’d help me pick that tree
For the auld lang syne

Chorus II

And we walked through the snow
And I felt that old hurt go
My resilient heart, well it made another start
And the ones that I love
They were waiting home for me
That night the boys and Claire and I
Would decorate our tree

She found the finest Christmas tree, a Pennsylvania pine
And the conversation petered out, but everything was five
And I didn’t ask the questions that once ate at my soul
And when her car was ready,
I whispered soft and low,
“I wish you well… this Christmas Eve”
“I wish you well… this Christmas Eve”
“I wish you well… this Christmas Eve”
“I wish you well… this Christmas Eve”