Side of the Road

Verse 1

Saw a man sitting outside the grocery store,

Cardboard sign that I’d seen before,

I looked away like I always do,

Told myself there was nothing I could do.

Had a meeting, had a schedule,

Had a hundred things to get through,

Funny how important things can seem

When somebody’s hurting next to you.

Pre-Chorus

I didn’t mean to be cold,

I just didn’t want to slow down.

Chorus

‘Cause love looks different than I thought,

It isn’t always big enough to stop the world,

Sometimes it’s pulling over,

Sometimes it’s getting closer,

Sometimes it’s seeing what everybody missed.

And I’ve been the one left on the side,

And I’ve been the one who walked right by,

Trying to learn what mercy means

On the side of the road.

Verse 2

Last December my car broke down,

Snow coming hard on the edge of town,

Phone was dead, nobody knew,

And honestly, I was scared to death too.

Then a stranger in an old pickup

Rolled his window down and smiled,

Spent an hour in the freezing cold

Just to help a guy he’d never met.

Pre-Chorus

He never asked my name,

Never stayed around for thanks.

Chorus

‘Cause love looks different than I thought,

It isn’t always loud enough to make the news,

Sometimes it’s showing up,

Sometimes it’s giving up

A little piece of what belongs to you.

And I’ve been the one left on the side,

And I’ve been the one who walked right by,

Trying to learn what mercy means

On the side of the road.

Bridge

Maybe heaven isn’t watching

For the people who say the most,

Maybe heaven’s looking closer

At the ones who stop when others won’t.

Maybe neighbors aren’t determined

By the streets we’re living on,

Maybe they’re the ones who see us

When the whole world has moved along.

Final Chorus

‘Cause love looks different than I thought,

It isn’t something that we only talk about,

It’s checking in,

It’s showing up,

It’s sitting down,

It’s picking up

The pieces that somebody dropped.

And someday when I’m left behind,

I hope somebody changes their mind,

And learns what mercy means

On the side of the road.

Outro

We’re all headed somewhere,

We’ve all got somewhere to go,

But the people we’ll become

Are decided on the side of the road.