Love Wins - Ty Herndon

They grew up in east St Louis

On the wrong side of the river

Never knew his dad and his mama had

A taste for cheap corn liquor

Started running with a gang

Despite his grandma’s prayers

If the finish line was a chalk outline

Well he was halfway there

Then one night as he was walking out the door

She threw her arms around him

Like he was going off to war

She kissed him on the forehead

Whispered three words in his ear

And all the anger he held on to

Began to disappear

Love wins

No matter what they say

It’s bigger than the biggest fear

Stronger than the strongest hate

The kindness of a kiss

Unclenches any fist

It’s like a daisy in the barrel of a gun

But in the end

Love wins

Tommy tattooed his hatred

Up and down his arm

He shaved his head those words in red

Never entered his cold heart

He spent his whole life judging

People by the colour of their skin

White was right you couldn’t change his mind

No matter what you did

Then one night

A gang jumped him from behind

He was dying in that alley

When Ray came walking by

The colour didn’t matter

As he reached out a saving hand

And ever since that moment

Tommy’s been a different man

When it looks like it’s going to lose

When it’s almost dark

The clouds just part

The sun comes shining through

Love wins