Lyrics

Rick… thank you for all you taught me.
Almost sixty years. I never laid it down.

[Verse 1]
You were my older cousin
But you wore a brother’s name
Belle Center summers, dusty streets
And a kid who learned your game
Wiffle ball in the vacant lot
Basketball till the lights went down
Football in the frost and mud
You never let me drown

[Verse 2]
We raced those bikes like Thoroughbreds
All over that little town
Seattle Slew and Affirmed flying
With Alydar running us down
You’d glance back down the gravel
Just to see if I was there
That’s how an older brother loves
Without making a speech of it

[Chorus]
You looked out for me when I was small
Taught me how a man should stand
I carried what you taught me, Rick
All across this land
And when that last mile comes, brother
Don’t you be afraid
You’ll close your eyes on this old earth
And wake in Jesus’ arms that day

[Verse 3]
Creek water cold, crawdads in a pail
Quarry when the little creek failed
One summer your folks took me north
Up to Nepewassi
You pulled a pike that looked big enough
To swallow the boat whole
I still see that grin when the line went tight
That’s the Rick I keep in my soul

[Verse 4]
You’d call me dirt neck, laughing
Ay-O-hayne down the block
Duffy Tavern stories and that old SNL
You’d fire one off and we couldn’t stop
“Jane, you ignorant slut—”
Lord, I can still hear you laugh
Then marriage pulled the map apart
Two roads, same hometown path

[Verse 5]
We found the Lord in our thirties
Same Savior, different pews
I drifted some years after that
But I never lost the boy you grew
You taught me how to stand my ground
How to throw and how to stay
And everything you put in me
He finished along the way

[Bridge]
I know the road is getting short now
I’m not saving this for later on
There is no sting He hasn’t broken
No grave He didn’t walk out of
You looked out for me all those years
Now He’s looking out for you
No fear in the crossing, brother
He’s already on that shore

[Final Chorus]
You looked out for me when I was small
Taught me how a man should stand
I carried what you taught me, Rick
All across this land
So rest easy, cousin — the finish is light
Don’t you be afraid
You’ll close your eyes on this old earth
And wake in Jesus’ arms that day

[Outro]
Belle Center boys don’t really die
They just change the field they play
Thank you, cousin
I’ll see you there
In the arms of Jesus
One fine day