You fold his hands and smooth his tie
You gently lift his chin
Were you really so blind
And unkind to him?
Can't help the itch to touch, to kiss
To hold him once again
Now to close his eyes
Never open them
A shadow passed, a shadow passed
Yearning, yearning
For the fool it called a home
All things he never did are left behind
All the things his mama wished he'd bear in mind
And all his dad ever hoped he'd know
The talks you never had
The Saturdays you never spent.
All the grown-up places
You never went
And all of the crying
You wouldn't understand
You just let him cry
Make a man out of him
A shadow passed, a shadow passed
Yearning, yearning
For the fool it called a home
All things he ever wished are left behind
All the things his mama did to make him mind
And how his dad had hoped he'd grow
All things he never lived are left behind
All the fears that ever flickered through his mind
All the sadness that he'd come to own
Oh
A shadow past, a shadow past
Yearning, yearning
For the fool it called a home
And it whistles through the ghosts still left behind
It whistles through the ghosts still left behind
It whistles through the ghosts still left behind