Verse 1) She was June in a hard old world Nineteen-oh-two, a Norwegian girl Clara’s hands and Hans’ blue eyes Strawberry curls and a spine of steel inside She was small but the ground knew her name Every season bent just the same And that old Cape Cod with the dormer three Held more life than most folks ever see (Pre-Chorus) You could smell her cooking halfway down the drive And you knew right then—you’d been invited (Chorus) She ran the farm, she ran the day Told the winter cold it couldn’t stay Gave Grandpa orders every spring And somehow made it feel like love, not a thing If you crossed her line, Lord help your soul She had a pitchfork and a little control But everybody says, and they all agree— There ain’t been another like Hannah, no, not since she (Verse 2) One side of the barn was hers alone Those cows were hers—don’t you touch what’s owned Grandpa tried once—didn’t go so well She ran him out like a bat outta—well… And later she’d laugh and call him “Ma” Like love was work, but worth the scar She was a nurse with steady hands And fed half the county with pots and pans (Pre-Chorus) Big ol’ table, plates stacked high Nobody left without a second try (Chorus) She ran the farm, she ran the day Told the winter cold it couldn’t stay Gave Grandpa orders every spring And somehow made it feel like love, not a thing If you crossed her line, Lord help your soul She had a pitchfork and a little control But everybody says, and they all agree— There ain’t been another like Hannah, no, not since she (Bridge) I remember lilacs taller than me A secret path like a memory Closets full of treasures upstairs And Grandpa’s books stacked everywhere The house was quiet, the kind that stays Even now through all these days She said once, “I’ll scalp you,” loud— And I ran straight out, cryin’ proud Down that gravel drive to Dad’s arms wide He said, “Not this one—she’s soft inside.” (Verse 3) Forty-one, thought it was a tumor then Turned out life had come again That baby boy—Dad’s early start Right there in her stubborn heart And when she left in January cold Nineteen-eighty-two, or so I’m told Dad still took us to the circus show I asked if we were still gonna go He just smiled like he was holding back the sea... "Of course," he said, and went along with me (Soft Chorus) She ran the farm, she ran the light Even when she wasn’t in sight And all that love she left behind Still shows up in a girl like mine (Outro) Grandpa wrote it, plain and true— “The Lord made one… and that was you.” Then broke the mold and let it be But I got her name… And her blue eyes in me (Softer) And maybe just a little bit… Of how she ran everything