Purple Heart Paperweight

My grandfather lost his knee in the war

He never bothered to tell the story before

The memories were painful so I let it go

But he got older and his blood started to thin

He'd shrug his shoulders and didn't know where to begin

With snow falling on bodies or slowly freezing

I never thought that I would sing along to all the songs I hated

What's left for you and I when all of the remains are unrelated

But it's not affecting me because I never kept them anyway

I'm driving faster there's not a second to waste

I court disaster with every turn that I take

Know I shouldn't be driving but I'm on the road

My grandmother hadn't shed a tear

She told me stories of how she used to cower in fear

From fists raised up in anger and drunken beatings

I never thought that I would sing along to all the songs I hated

What's left for you and I when all of the remains are unrelated

But it's not affecting me because I know I loved him anyway

And God knows he loved me anyway

When you think about it, it's not affecting me

Because I know I loved him anyway

And God knows he loved me anyway

And tonight I know this man is dead and gone

I'm in his chair listening to all of his favorite songs

Because the man I lost was the man I knew before I ever learned

That he had fires to light bridges to burn