Chartier and Checora

Lyrics

They come without warning like a midsummer storm
Flow like a river when a baby’s just born
They come in the morning when nothing seems wrong
Slipping in through the radio in a Sam Baker song

They come by surprise, they come with a sigh
Flow full from the faucet when another dad dies
They slip out with old friends around a few beers
Turn up with the Blue Jays in championship years

And those deepening lines in his aging face
Are the ruts and the grooves of those years
Serving as more than just a map of those times
They’re gold panning creeks for an old man’s tears

And they come in the day, when the work is all done
And he spots on the park bench a father and son
And they come in the night with a soft little moan
Break like the surf crashing over a stone

And those deepening lines on his aging face
Are the ruts and the grooves of the years
Serving as more than just a map of those times
They’re gold panning creeks for an old man’s tears

And they spill in the joy of finding your voice
Leak out in the still and they hide in the noise
May the tears of each loss match the tears of each prize
Filling your heart as well as your eyes

And those deepening lines on his aging face
Are the ruts and the grooves of those years
Serving as more than just a map of those times
They’re gold panning creeks for an old man’s tears