From the Songbond library

The House Is Quiet Now

SongbondMemorial

0:00–:––

A sympathy gift after the loss of both parents

Two coats on their hooks and a grocery list in a mother’s handwriting make this example about returning to a house after both parents are gone.

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The words

Lyrics

The key still turns like it always did But nobody calls out, come on in, kid Your coats are on the hooks by the door His brown one, your blue one, like before The furnace clicks the way it did when I was eight And I stand in the hallway like I'm hoping someone's late There's a grocery list still on the fridge Milk, stamps, and call the kids Nobody tells you grown-ups Get orphaned too The house is quiet now But I can hear you anyhow In the stairs that creak on the second step In every little thing you kept I'm boxing up the rooms somehow But I'm carrying you out with me The house is quiet now Dad's chair still leans toward the window light Your reading glasses folded where you said goodnight The basement smells like cedar and his pipe I find your Christmas labels, every name retyped I always thought this hallway was so tall Now my shoulders nearly brush the wall Nobody tells you grown-ups Get orphaned too The house is quiet now But I can hear you anyhow In the stairs that creak on the second step In every little thing you kept I'm boxing up the rooms somehow But I'm carrying you out with me The house is quiet now Someday some other family's kids Will pencil heights on that kitchen wall And never know whose laughter soaked the floors But I'll know — I'll carry it all The two of you come with me out that door The house is quiet now But I can hear you anyhow In the stairs that creak on the second step In every little thing you kept I'm locking up the rooms for now But I'm carrying you out with me The house is quiet now One last look down the hall You built me here That's the part that doesn't sell at all

Behind the song

The story

The key still turns the way it always did, but nobody calls out come on in, kid. Both coats are on the hooks by the door — his brown one, her blue one. The furnace clicks the way it did when you were eight. There's still a grocery list on the fridge in her handwriting: milk, stamps, call the kids. You box up the rooms slowly, the way you do when you're the last one left to lock up. For the grown child nobody warned would get orphaned too — carrying out a childhood that was never going to fit in any box.

The story behind this Songbond listening example.

From this song to your gift

Remember the home that held your childhood

Two coats on their hooks and a grocery list in a mother’s handwriting make this example about returning to a house after both parents are gone. A personal gift can acknowledge the adult child’s loss through the sounds, routines and objects that once meant home.

A sibling, relative or close friend can offer this remembrance to an adult grieving both parents, if they welcome a personal tribute.

How to give it

Offer the link privately and leave the recipient free to listen later, particularly while they are handling the practical work of clearing a home.

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Giving a personal song

Should a sympathy gift focus on clearing the house?

Only if that is a memory the recipient wants acknowledged. This sample includes that task, but a custom tribute can stay with the home as it was when the family was together.

Is this the recording I receive when I order a custom gift?

“The House Is Quiet Now” is a public listening example. A custom-song request uses the story you share; check the current creation page for what is included and how changes work.

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Memorial

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