My name's on a gravestone in Tiffin
His wife was named June, same as my daughter
Who's learning to crawl on the floor
Johnny's June died on my birthday
Five years before mine came
I hope it was sweet as summer rain
Both of June's loves fought in the Great War
When they were both younger than me
I've never seen a man die by a bullet
And I hope it's something that I never see
Who's buried south there in Hope Mills
I remembered the whistle of his last days
When we brought my June up to the hills
Marlene and Tom were Tiffin's sweethearts
But in '56 the army pulled Tom's name
He sent his darling a ring in the mail
And at 21 she boarded the plane
Marlene and Tom spoke their vows in Paris
Whose streets I've walked with my own bride
Tom loved Marlene for 58 years
Until he breathed his last and he died
My grandma still lives in the white house on Main Street
The home that held heaven when I was little
Love lives forever but we don't
Our bodies are weak and our bones are brittle
What will we do with this life so precious?
When my June was born she was just two pounds
But we carry the fire of our ancestors
And we bring their souls up from the ground
