The Room At The Top of the Stair

This is a song by the great folk songwriter John McCutcheon. He wrote it for his first born son, Will, but I think the beautiful sentiments about parenting transcend gender. When I listen to it in my car, I cry every time by the time I get to the third verse. Enjoy!

There’s a room in our house
At the top of the stair
It was empty at first
But we knew you’d be there
The dog got excited
The day that you came
I guess he thought you smelled weird
And I thought the same
But the cries and the changing
That came every night
Were changing me too
‘Til I thought that I might
Just stand in the doorway
For hours and stare
In that room at the top of the stair

There’s a room in our house
At the top of the stair
It was all yours for years
Then you had to share
Your calm world was burst
By this loud, little kid
Who mimicked and learned
Everything that you did
The games and adventures
The books and the plays
The hours of fantasy
Went on for days
And I watched in amazement
This most unlikely pair
In that room at the top of the stair

There’s a room in our house
At the top of the stair
One night it was empty
We called everywhere
All those demons and dangers
That lurk in your hearts
Slipped in through the door
And tore us apart
‘Til we found you at last
In another boy’s home
Safe and asleep
And forgetting to phone
And I lay awake lost
In a pure, grateful prayer
In that room at the top of the stair

There’s a room in our house
At the top of the stair
Where the door is shut tight
And the stereo blares
Your mother is worried
About your young ears
No one has seen
Your carpet in years
And the hole in the wall
That you made with your fist
When the anger of aging
Was too hard to resist
But the long light of love
Cast its shadow in there
In the room at the top of the stair

There’s a room in our house
At the top of the stair
Now the bed has clean sheets
And the floors are all bare
A presentable place
When folks come to stay
Your brother and you
Boxed and moved you away
To a duplex apartment
Just across town
Now I sit on the bed
As the memories rain down
There’s a hole in my heart
Where you’ll always be there
In that room at the top of the stair