A Hard Rain

She wrote it on the wall in lipstick, because lipstick was the only thing she had to write with. “A hard rain” — two words from Dylan, in red beside the door. A song about the arithmetic of leaving: what to take, what to leave, how to tell the children, and what to let them see. Twenty-nine guns on the floor and a man sitting in the middle of them. An inventory at the divorce — the children, the car, and the chairs. A man who made sure about the furniture and never asked for a single picture of his kids. “Some things I still can't answer. Some things I couldn't leave.” Next song in the series. It starts here →    • The Closet Full   — LYRICS — [Verse 1] The first time I left you, I wrote it on the wall. Lipstick was the only thing I had to write with at all. “A hard rain”—words from Dylan, In red beside the door. I left the lipstick on the sink. I couldn't use it anymore. [Chorus] Decisions— What to take and what to leave. How to tell the children, What to let them see. I could stand there in the doorway, Trying to find the words, Or pick up what I came for And leave without being heard. [Verse 2] Twenty-nine guns upon the floor, You sitting in the middle. Drunk inside that circle, Talking loud, then talking little. I didn't ask which ones were loaded. I didn't wait to hear. “I wasn't going to be A gun-cleaning accident here.” [Chorus] [Verse 3] At the divorce, an inventory: The children, car, and chairs. A house reduced to columns, What was mine and what was yours. You made sure about the furniture, What you'd keep and what you'd sell. You took no pictures of your kids. I remember that as well. [Bridge] I'd have given you their school pictures, The baby pictures, too. There were years inside those albums With a place in them for you. You could have asked for copies. I'd have put them in your hand. Of all the things that happened, That's the one I don't understand. [Final Chorus] Decisions— What to take and what to leave. You had yours to carry. I had children needing me. I packed the family photographs Between their clothes that day. Some things I still can't answer. Some things I couldn't leave. [Outro] “A hard rain” on the wall. Twenty-nine guns on the floor. He took no pictures of his kids. I don't live there anymore. — Content note: this song deals with domestic violence. If you need someone, the National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-7233, or text START to 88788. Next in the series: The Closet Full →    • The Closet Full   The whole series →    • Sisters   The stories are mine. I worked them into lyrics with AI, draft after draft, until the feeling was right. Music and vocals generated with Suno. Prairie Dog Radio — Stories worth singing. #AHardRain, #PrairieDogRadio, #StorySongs, #CountryMusic, #Survivor