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Lyrics

My sister has a daughter That doesn't look much like her She looks more like the father she won't see She's mostly on her phone these days She's got a couple friends her age Some secrets that she'd die to try to keep When I'm staying in their guest room I can hear her in the next room The whispers and the silence and the sighs She doesn't eat much breakfast A single slice of toast at most Watches from the corners of her eyes There's crumbs around the corners of her mouth You can hear the highway from their house The traffic sounds like water in a river rushing south We'll never win this war, but maybe we can wait it out We'll never win this war, but maybe we can wait it out Her mother is my sister She's a fighter, but she's tired now The third shift's such a bitch to decent sleep On Sundays, she puts perfume on And waltzes with the vacuum on Sucks up the destruction of the week In the kitchen, there's a radio She sings along to the ones she knows Remembers back when some of these were new When the girls all chose a guy From the dances at the Y 'Cause it felt like that was what you're supposed to do Now all those choices seem a little grim Violent wild or disengaged and dim The highway goes forever, but your funds will fence you in Paying bills and stubbing out generic super slims The years, they put the yellow in her hair and teeth and skin Her husband was a contractor A hunter, and a fly fisher He never raised a hand, he just withdrew So far inside his head That she would barely even notice him A ghost that's usually in the other room Eventually they started sleeping separately Eventually it didn't even hurt Last winter, he moved out to his brother's house Eventually he stopped going to work Now she hasn't seen a check in seven months And they're living off of credit cards and crumbs She's pretty sure her daughter has been meeting up with boys We'll never win this war, but maybe we won't get destroyed She's wishing that that highway wouldn't make that goddamn noise She doesn't really trust her daughter's friends But she's happy that I'm helping out with rent So we stay up late and talk about the way it was before We can maybe wait it out, but we'll never win this war We can maybe wait it out, but we'll never win this war