On This Side of Goodbye

Another name is written
On the long list in my heart
Another light that found me
Has gone shining through the dark
And here beneath a distant moon
So far from home tonight
I scrape through all the memories
For the goodness and the light

Three rings have left their shadows
Like pale circles on my hand
There were rooms I thought we’d grow in
There were dreams that didn’t stand
No children running down the hall
No one waiting when I’m through
But I’ve had a life worth living
And a world of love from you

So I won’t save “I love you”
For the dearly departed
I won’t leave the tender words
Until the silence has started
If there’s something in my heart
I’m gonna bring it to the light
I’ll say what needs to be said
On this side of goodbye

Every life is just a flicker
Every breath a borrowed flame
We arrive and shine together
Then we vanish from the frame
Nothing stays and nothing lasts
That much I know is true
But love’s the thread that holds me
When the world comes loose

So I won’t save “I love you”
For the dearly departed
I won’t leave the tender words
Until the silence has started
If there’s something in my heart
I’m gonna bring it to the light
I’ll say what needs to be said
On this side of goodbye

I love you!
I love you!
I love you!

There’s always unfinished business
Some truth we never tell
A hand we meant to reach for
One last story left to tell
I hope there is another shore
Where every soul arrives
But I won’t wait for heaven
To love you while you’re alive

I love you!
I love you!
I love you!

No, I won’t save “I love you”
For the dearly departed
I’ll give you every tender word
Before the leaving has started
And if I should be the one who goes
Ahead into the night
You’ll know what lived within my heart
On this side of goodbye

I love you!
I love you!
I love you!

Each of you still shines in me
Like stars that morning hides
Gone—but never unloved
On this side of goodbye

I love you!
I love you!
I love you!