My Father's House - Emmylou Harris

Last night, I dreamed that I was a child

Out where the pines grow wild and tall

I was trying to make it home through the forest

Before the darkness falls

I heard the wind rustling through the trees

And ghostly voices rose up from the fields

I ran with my heart pounding, down that broken pathway

With the devil snapping at my heel

I broke through the trees and there, in the night

My father’s house stood, shining hard and bright

The branches and brambles tore my clothes and caused me harm

But I ran 'til I fell, shaking in his arms

I awoke and imagined the hard things that pulled us apart

Will never again, sir, tear us from each other’s hearts

I got dressed, and to that house I did ride

From out on the road, I could see its windows shining in light

I walked up the steps and stood on the porch

A woman I didn’t recognize spoke to me through a chained door

I told her my story and who I’d come for

She said, «I'm sorry, son, but no one by that name lives here anymore»

My father’s house shines hard and bright

It stands like a beacon, calling me in the night

Calling and calling, so cold and alone

Shining 'cross this dark highway, where our sins lie unatoned