Delight
Verse 1
There once was a woman, her name was Delight
A Wisconsin girl with a fire in her eyes
At Jensen Hardware, she'd tell the big men plain
“Use the spittoon, boys, don't spit on the floor again”
Small-town Cushing, where the neighbors all knew
If you picked your nose or if you farted, they knew that too
She was tough as a fence post, but warm as the sun
And somehow she made room for everyone
Verse 2
The Army took her west when the war was on
A young girl with a typewriter, then California dawn
She met a man named Trigg somewhere along the way
And she loved that man more with every passing day
He was the one she worshipped, the one she called home
The one she believed she'd never walk alone
But in nineteen eighty-four, her whole world changed
And she kept her chin high when the funeral came
Chorus
She never broke, she never gave in
She carried her sorrow underneath her skin
She'd say Trigg was waiting, just like he said he'd be
And thirty-two years was nothing to eternity
She'd tell you she was fine, then she'd bake you some pie
With a house full of stories and his memory in her head
She spent her whole life giving love away
And I still hear her voice when I think of her today
Verse 3
She stood up for children, she stood up for wives
For women who'd been hurt and were fighting for their lives
She spoke for the helpless, collected her awards
Then went and sat beside the lonely in a nursing home ward
Pleasant Ridge knew her footsteps, and plenty of others did too
She'd visit folks who had nobody else to come through
She wasn't much for cooking, but baking was her art
Cookies, bread and something warm enough to mend a heart
Verse 4
She'd drive from Sacramento, that old Cutlass Sierra
Across the Carquinez, then I-5 through the terror
An old woman on the highway in a car she'd kept too long
Just because she missed us and she wanted to come home
She'd stay for a few days, we'd gather in the room
Tell the same old stories, make a little more room
Sometimes we'd watch a movie, mostly we'd just talk
And she'd fill the whole house up with the sound of her laugh
Chorus
She never broke, she never gave in
She carried her sorrow underneath her skin
She'd say Trigg was waiting, just like he said he'd be
And thirty-two years was nothing to eternity
She'd tell you she was fine, then she'd bake you some pie
With a house full of stories and his memory in her head
She spent her whole life giving love away
And I still hear her voice when I think of her today
Bridge
And every Sunday that I stayed at her place
I'd go sit beside her in that little church pew
I didn't always understand what she believed
But I understood it mattered to her
And she believed God was waiting
And Trigg would be there too
So I went because she wanted me there
And that's what you do for someone you love
Verse 5
She lived by herself for more than thirty years
With a lifetime of memories and a few honest tears
She'd tell Ole and Lena jokes and laugh till she cried
Then she'd tell you, “Oh, for Pete’s sake,” with that Midwestern pride
She grew old without surrendering who she was
Even when the house got quiet, even when it got tough
And when they finally moved her somewhere she could be cared for
She hated every minute, but she never made a fuss
Final Verse
She wanted to die at home, she wanted to be near him
She said she wanted to go where she knew she'd find him
Then one night she called me and her voice sounded tired
She said, “I don't think I can make it another night”
I told her it was okay
I told her I loved her
She didn't make it another night
Outro
There once was a woman, her name was Delight
She fought for the broken and she lived her whole life
With her chin held high and her heart open wide
Believing the people she loved never really die
And somewhere beyond what I can see tonight
A woman named Delight walked into the light
And if Trigg was waiting, like he promised he'd be
I hope he held her close
The way she always believed
There once was a woman...
Her name was Delight.