Raise It Slowly, Raise It Kind

Lyrics

I have the card here in my pocket
The ink has gone soft at the fold
I wrote it out twice in the kitchen
And still it feels new and feels old
Your father is standing beside me
He's pretending he isn't in tears
So I'll say it the way I know how to
The way I have said it for years

Raise it slowly, raise it kind
Here's to the two of you, here's to the time
Here's to the dishes and the rainy days
And the quiet way love learns to stay
Raise it slowly, raise it kind
Bring all your small mercies, leave the grand ones behind
May the kettle be warm and the porch light be on
And may you always, always come home

I knew you when you were this high
With a scraped knee and a paper crown
You'd line up your shoes by the doorway
And never once put them down
Now there is a person beside you
Who laughs at the things that you say
And I see how the whole room is softer
When he looks at you that way

Raise it slowly, raise it kind
Here's to the two of you, here's to the time
Here's to the dishes and the rainy days
And the quiet way love learns to stay
Raise it slowly, raise it kind
Bring all your small mercies, leave the grand ones behind
May the kettle be warm and the porch light be on
And may you always, always come home

Some days will be heavy
Some days will be thin
Say sorry out loud
And then let the other one in
Hold on to the evenings
The ordinary ones
They're the ones that we're made of
When all the long years are done

Raise it slowly, raise it kind
Here's to the two of you, here's to the time
Here's to the dishes and the rainy days
And the quiet way love learns to stay
Raise it slowly, raise it kind
Bring all your small mercies, leave the grand ones behind
May the kettle be warm and the porch light be on
And may you always, always come home

So glasses up, glasses low
Here's to the love that is learning to grow
Raise it slowly, raise it kind
Here's to you both, and to time