About the song
A story for this song hasn’t been added yet.
Words from the artist’s archive
Candle On lyrics
Artist-supplied lyric sheet, matched by title. The sheet may differ from this released performance. Production notes and alternate promotional cuts are omitted.
Read the lyric sheet
Intro
Candle on. I’m home, Ma.
Verse 1
Turnpike salt on my cuffs, 2:13 on the stove, money in a rubber band, road dust in my throat. Kitchen tile cold, chair from 2014 leans, same cracked mug by the sink, coffee gone mean. I came back with rent paid, two names out my phone, you kept a little flame working like it knew I was close.
Pre-chorus
You say, “eat before you talk,” like I just got off the bus. I say, “yes ma’am,” real low, cause loud would break too much.
Chorus
You kept the candle on, candle on for me. Same mug by the sink, same chair since ’14. I was gone getting grown, you kept the candle on. I brought home what I made, not everything I lost.
Verse 2
Window screen bowed from 954 rain, you wipe the counter slow like dust can explain. “You look thin,” you say, then joke on my vest, I laugh with no teeth, leave the truth on my chest. Receipts from the port got wet in my jeans, elevator mirrors showed a stranger looking clean.
Verse 3
Keys kiss the plate, screen door clicks its tongue, I talk numbers, you talk rice still warm. I say a partner turned ghost, you say, “storms do that,” pour coffee over ice and push my old chair back. Ma, you saved my seat through every cold call, wood scratched from the year I thought leaving solved all.
Pre-chorus
You say, “wash your hands first,” worry folded in the cup. I say, “yes ma’am,” real low, cause loud would break too much.
Chorus
You kept the candle on, candle on for me. Same mug by the sink, same chair since ’14. I was gone getting grown, you kept the candle on. I brought home what I made, not everything I lost.
Verse 4
I-95 argues outside with the rain, freezer motor hums like it remembers my name. Phone face cracked, bank app bright, all green, but the fridge photo got me missing who I’d been. You point at wax pooled up on the sill, say, “Changed it every Sunday,” plain as a bill.
Bridge
Drop the drums for the refrigerator. Let the room talk first. Screen door. Spoon glass. Your prayer stays under your breath. No choir yet, just stove clock, flame standing there like it paid rent.
Verse 5
I put money in your drawer, you put it back in my hand, “Keep some for gas, baby, don’t perform being a man.” Chair creaks truth, mug warms my palm, you call forgiveness “food been cooking too long.” 2:31 blinks red; the candle bends, don’t quit, Ma, every road got smaller when I turned into it.
Pre-chorus
You say, “lock the door, son,” I hear the years stand up. I say, “yes ma’am,” real low, cause loud would break too much.
Chorus
You kept the candle on, candle on for me. Same mug by the sink, same chair since ’14. I was gone getting grown, you kept the candle on. I brought home what I made, not everything I lost.
Outro
Same mug. Same chair. Candle on.
Inside the recording
Candle on. I’m home, Ma.
You say, “eat before you talk,” like I just got off the bus.
Same mug. Same chair. Candle on.
Excerpts from artist-supplied lyric files matched by title. Lyric sheets may differ from the released performance.