Village Goodnight: The Porch Light Glows

Lyrics

[Intro]
The sky goes bruised violet over Glenwood Avenue.
The air gets thick.
The cicadas trade their shift with the crickets.
And there you are.
Just one yellow square. The first one on.

[Verse 1]
Your light spills onto the steps of a Craftsman bungalow.
Catches the dust motes dancing in the humid air.
The porch swing is empty now, just rocking slow from a ghost of a push.
The day's heat finally breathes off the pavement.
And the traffic signals at Flat Shoals cycle through their colors for a single passing car.
Green. Yellow. Red.
The quiet pulse of a village at rest.

[Chorus]
And the porch light glows.
A promise whispered to the coming dark.
We're still here.
The village is breathing in its sleep.
Just a little softer now.
Goodnight.

[Verse 2]
Down the block, The Earl's neon is a soft red smear in the window of a passing bus.
Mary's rainbow throws a little color on the wet leaves from the afternoon shower.
There's a history buried right under my feet, you know.
The weight of a rail line, sleeping just under the cracked asphalt.
Still waiting for a streetcar that isn't coming back.

[Chorus]
And the porch light glows.
A promise whispered to the coming dark.
We're still here.
The village is breathing in its sleep.
Just a little softer now.
Goodnight.

[Bridge]
Someone's stereo is on, two houses down.
Just a muffled kick drum, a ghost of a bassline through an open screen door.
It’s the same old song, the same three chords that woke this place up in 1999.
Just tired now. Ready for bed.
All that beautiful, necessary noise, finally tucked in for the night.

[Outro]
The distant train hums on the horizon.
Sometimes it sounds like a bass amp left on.
And you just keep watch.
Little yellow square.
You hold the quiet.
You hold all of it.
Goodnight, village.
Goodnight.