The Flag Still Climbs

The flag still climbs outside the hall
Torn straight through
And still not done

Factory gates went quiet
Team lost every game
Main Street lights kept flickering
Like they forgot our name

The hardware store went dark in March
The diner boarded June
A whole town holding one long breath
Beneath a worn out moon

The storm came through on Tuesday
Tore the hall flag down
I found it in a puddle
Like a piece of this whole town

I almost threw it out
Thought it couldn't be repaired
Then old Miss Carter touched my arm
That flag looks like us there

The flag still climbs!
Raise it high
Red thread shining
Still not dying
Let the town see where the storm came through
We're stitched we're scarred
But we're not coming down

The flag still climbs
Climbs
Still not dying
Dying
Raise it up!
Raise it up

Men who hadn't spoken in years
Sat down beside the kids
Somebody found a needle
Somebody found the pins

Coach cut squares from letter jackets
The pastor gave his sleeve
The seamstress from the dry cleaner
Worked with rolled up dungarees

The seam ran crooked
Red thread through the blue
It wasn't pretty from the road
But it held like truth

Friday night half empty bleachers
Cold and thin
But when the kids pulled on that rope
The whole place breathed again

The kids grew up beneath it
Learned the thread by heart
A broken thing still standing
Is a town that won't fall apart

Torn but flying
Still not dying
Raise it up!
Raise it up

It rose with every patch we made
It caught the light
It caught the rain
Not perfect no
But ours
But brave

The flag still climbs!
Raise it high
Red thread shining
Still not dying
Let the town see where the storm came through
We're stitched we're scarred
But we're not coming down

Don't you throw away the wounded thing
Just because the cloth is worn
Some pride is sewn with shaking hands
Some hope is badly torn

If it can rise with open seams
Then neighbor so can you
Let the scar show from the road
Let it tell the truth

Show the road your open seams!
Raise it high
Wear the weather like a crown!
Raise it high

If the wind can read our story
Let it read we won't come down

The flag still climbs!
Raise it high
Red thread shining
Still not dying
Let the town see where the storm came through
We're stitched we're scarred
But we're not coming down

The flag still climbs
Climbs
Still not dying
Dying
Raise it up!
Raise it up

Come spring the diner opened
Half its windows new
Same crooked flag out front
Climbing in the blue

Nobody fixed the crooked seam
We left it like a scar
A broken thing still standing
Says everything we are