The Locket

Back in forty one, you met a brown-eyed boy
Who called you pretty
He’d walk every day, couple miles out of his way
To hold your hand and keep you company
Your mama said, don’t call it love at fourteen
But sittin’ on that front porch swing

He gave you his picture in a locket
That you wore around your neck
Left it right beside your heart
So you would not forget
The way it felt when he held your hand
And you swore that you would never take it off
And the butterflies you felt said it all
You were falling for the boy inside your locket

Back in forty three, the brown-eyed boy went overseas
And had to leave town for a little while
He swore he’d marry you
As soon as the war was through
You would be his wife
Standing in the pouring rain
You cried as you watched him ride away

But everyday
You had his picture in a locket
That you wore around your neck
Left it right beside your heart so you would not forget

The way his kiss tasted on your lips
And everyday felt like a lifetime with him gone
And you prayed that God would bring him safely home
‘Cause you made a promise
To the boy inside your locket

Oh, sixty years you two had together
But he’s been gone for a couple now
And it breaks my heart to see you struggle to remember
But I’ve been writing all your memories down
And I stopped by today
To read a couple pages
Grandma, you sure look pretty
And you smiled that smile
The one I haven’t seen in quite a while
And you said to me, I want you to keep

His picture in a locket that I wore around my neck
The one I left beside my heart so I would not forget
The greatest love and the greatest man I’ve ever known
But it’s gettin’ time for me to head on home
She said, that brown-eyed boy is waiting
And I don’t want to keep him long
Heaven is calling
And she said, my heart is longing
For the boy inside your locket