Bringing Winston Home

Father's Day 1994, a little band of travelers came to our door
And asked if we could help them out
They'd been looking for hours and were quite lost
Did we know where the ferry used to cross
And then they told us what it was about
See, Dad had passed away last fall, and he made them promise one and all
That when the spring time came they'd take his ashes back
To the place he'd loved when he was a child, where youth was innocent and dreams ran wild
But he was 85 years old, now they'd lost track
And they could not have known
They were bringing Winston home

He'd been raised by his Grandpa, and they said his name
We realized it was just the same family, who had lived here years ago
When they realized what it was they'd found, they asked if they could take a look around
So we took them to a special place we know
Where you can see for miles and miles around, and watch the river wind below
Then they sprinkled a few ashes at the base of a big old oak
And they could not have known
They were bringing Winston home

I later asked a few old timers, if his name did ring a bell
They said yes that they'd grown up with him, and they'd known him really well
Then a chill ran up and down me as their story did unfold
But the part that haunts me yet is when they told

Winston's Grandpa'd been the ferry man, and one thing Winston could do was swim
So he taught all the others what he knew
But the river ran so far below, so he made a ladder out of chunks of rope
So they could pull themselves back up when the fun was through
Then they tied it to an old oak tree, and when they made there way up top
They'd lean against it's trunk for hours and hours and laugh and joke and talk
And now all of us know, that Winston found his way back home
And now all of us know, that Winston's safe at home