The Guitar I Never Learned to Play

Lyrics

It hangs on the wall where he left it
Six strings, a little dust
He said he'd teach me one day
Said it's easier than it looks

The guitar I never learned to play
Still hangs there in the light of day
I touch one string and it hums his name
Nothing's quite the same
The guitar I never learned to play
Is the sweetest thing he left to stay

I held it once when the house was still
My fingers fumbled, my heart stood still
One crooked chord and a quiet sigh
The room remembered him nearby

The guitar I never learned to play
Still hangs there in the light of day
I touch one string and it hums his name
Nothing's quite the same
The guitar I never learned to play
Is the sweetest thing he left to stay

Maybe I'll start on a Sunday morning
Maybe I'll learn one song
Something slow, something plain
Something he'd have hummed along

So I take it down and I tune it slow
One gentle chord, then I let it go
It's not perfect and it's not for show
But he'd have smiled, I know

The guitar I never learned to play
Is learning to speak in its own sweet way
I touch one string and it hums his name
And I hum the same
The guitar I never learned to play
Is the sweetest thing he left to stay

One slow chord
He would have smiled