She Never Looked Down at the Crowd

Lyrics

I sat in the third row of the village hall
With a folded programme gone soft in my hand
My daughter stood up with her violin shaking
And I did not know how to stand

She'd practised in the attic for a year
With a towel on the strings so we wouldn't hear
I'd pretended not to notice, every evening
And now the whole room was leaning near

She never looked down at the crowd
She looked at the far window, clear
And I found that my eyes had gone misty
For a pride I could barely keep here
No speech, no flowers, no clapping
Just the sound of a girl being brave
And a father in the third row of chairs
With more love than he knows how to say

Afterward she found me by the tea urn
Smiling, as if it were nothing at all
I said, "Well, that was lovely," like a fool
And she hugged me, and I let the small words fall

Some things are said in the quiet
In a hand that holds a hand
Some things are said in the dark of a car
On the road, where we both understand

She never looked down at the crowd
She looked at the far window, clear
And I found that my eyes had gone misty
For a pride I could barely keep here
No speech, no flowers, no clapping
Just the sound of a girl being brave
And a father in the third row of chairs
With more love than he knows how to say

More love than he knows how to say
More love than he knows how to say