The Red Oak Tree

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I rode by the old graveyard today
Out in the city, there’s a thousand graves
Row after row of names carved in stone
Resting quietly in the middle of it all

My heart felt heavy, & I couldn’t turn away
Standing there with the giant red oak
Must’ve been a million tears that fell
She said goodbye as they departed one by one

All the stories buried here
Tales of love & war and dying
Old men and babies, lying here together
And the red oak with her secrets
Secrets she will keep
Life goes on around them
The forgotten souls, beneath the red oak tree

Here lies the hands that built the houses down the street
Ornate gables with hand-carved peaks
They built the old church that helped their souls
Reach a better land, beginning at this tree

Here lies the beautiful, the young & old
Tears behind them now, long, long ago
Laughter replaced by the quiet red oak tree
All their joys & struggles she cannot speak

All the stories buried here
Tales of love & war and dying
Young newlyweds, lying here together
And the red oak with her secrets
Secrets she will keep
Life goes on around them
The forgotten souls, beneath the red oak tree

You can tell which ones had money by their stones
They’re all the same now, beneath this oak

All the stories buried here
Tales of love & war and dying
Handsome soldiers & their widows
Lying here together
And the red oak with her secrets
Secrets she will keep
Life goes on around them
The forgotten souls, beneath the red oak tree
The forgotten souls, beneath the red oak tree