The Brothers Come Home Before the Rains Break

Lyrics

Three of us left that house with our pockets full of promises
One for the city, one for the sea, one for the other side of the world
The mango tree grew taller and the gate grew rusty hinges
And our mother kept our beds made through every passing year

The clouds are stacking higher on the hills above the village
The air is thick and heavy with the smell of coming rain
And down the dusty road they come, one by one, with battered cases
Older, broader, quieter, but I would know them anywhere

The thunder's far away
But we are almost home

The brothers come home before the rains break
Boots upon the porch, a laugh across the yard
We were boys who ran these fields, we are men who carry weight
But the kitchen light still knows us by our names
The brothers come home before the rains break
Let the long years fall away
Pull the table to the window, pour the tea and break the bread
We are gathered, and the sky can have its say

We sit and count the empty years, the weddings that we missed
The funerals we mourned apart, the children we have not met
And our mother in the doorway with her hand against her heart
Says nothing, only watches, like a woman watching light

Let the first drops hit the roof
Let the old gate swing and sigh
We were scattered by the wind
But the rain will bring us in

The brothers come home before the rains break
Boots upon the porch, a laugh across the yard
We were boys who ran these fields, we are men who carry weight
But the kitchen light still knows us by our names
The brothers come home before the rains break
Let the long years fall away
Pull the table to the window, pour the tea and break the bread
We are gathered, and the sky can have its say

We are gathered
And the sky can have its say