Joy Come Early

Joy come early! (hey)
Joy come early! (hey)
Hey! Come on!
Hey, hey, come on!

Joy come early, joy come early
Before the morning, before the bill
Joy come early, knocked on my window
Said, sit down, child, sit still

Alarm clock screaming at a quarter to six
Bills on the table spread out like a fan
The radio said it would rain all week
I had my face on, the one I wear for the world
I had my whole defense plan
A bird in the gutter started up a song
Not a pretty one, not in tune
Something in my chest said, who told you
That the joy was coming soon
I stood at the sink with the water running
I laughed and I did not know why
The coffee was bad and the news was worse
And the sky was a ridiculous blue
I had a whole list of reasons for rain
And none of them were true

Oh, I was bracing for Tuesday
Oh, I was bracing for rain
Oh, I was counting my troubles
And joy walked in again

Joy come early, joy come early
Before the morning, before the bill
Joy come early, knocked on my window
Said, sit down, child, sit still

La joie est là (joy come early)
La joie est là (joy come early)
Hey! Come on, church!

I said, Lord, I have not earned this
I have not prayed in a week
He said, child, I did not send it as wages
I sent it because you are weak
Joy does not check the books at the door
Joy does not read the file
Joy came in with her shoes in her hand
She took the bills and she stacked them neat
And sat on my bed for a while
She did not preach, she did not fix
She hummed the way mothers do
And every tight little knot in my back
Said, oh, so this is what You do

Oh, I was bracing for Tuesday
Oh, I was bracing for rain
Oh, I was counting my troubles
And joy walked in again

Joy come early, joy come early
Before the morning, before the bill
Joy come early, knocked on my window
Said, sit down, child, sit still

La joie est là (joy come early)
La joie est là (joy come early)

Merci, Seigneur, merci
I did not have to earn it
I only had to open the door
It was never a trade
Grace is not a wage
Say it with your whole chest, church

Joy come early, joy come early
Before the morning, before the bill
Joy come early, I'm not bracing for the rain
Sit down, child, sit still

La joie est là (joy come early)
La joie est là (joy come early)
Hey! Come on, church!

Joy come early...