The Beginning of Things

He was born a William
But he goes by Bill
He's had some big dreams
And he has them still

Well her name's Samantha
Only he calls her Sam
They grew up together
Right outside Birmingham

'Bout halfway through college
With their heads in a whirl
He asked her will you love me always?
She said I always will

And they started building a house
She's still livin' there now

With her half-painted porch
And rusty gold ring
He only likes the beginning of things
He only likes the beginning of things

Now Bill's gettin' older
He ain't settled down still
He's got a daughter out of college
And she calls him Bill

She goes to visit her mother
Well there's good days and bad
She only recognizes her half the time
But she's always glad

She still recalls building a house
As if it's happenin' then

With her half-painted porch
And rusty gold ring
He only likes the beginning of things
He only likes the beginning of things, mm

Soon after daughter's last visit
Samantha passes away
The whole family surrounded her
Just the other day

He was the third one to get there
Just mother and daughter and Bill
She said, "Mother never blamed you
But I always will"

He grabs his coat and his hat
She's surprised by that

He's a half-painted porch
A rusty gold ring
He only likes the beginning of things
He only likes the beginning of things, ooh
Ooh