I Do
Andrea Gibson Lyrics

I do.
I want to commit to spending the rest of my life with you.

But the motherfuckers say we can't.
Society disapproves of our relationship because we are both female or something similar.

‘Cause you're a girl and I'm a girl or at least something close
We are both biologically female, or something similar.

So the most we can hope for is an uncivil union in Vermont
The only legal option available for our marriage is an unofficial civil union in Vermont.

But I want church bells – I want rosary beads; I want Jesus on his knees.
I desire a traditional religious marriage ceremony despite its incompatibility with society's views.

I want to walk down the aisle while all the patriarchy smiles
I want to have a traditional wedding ceremony in front of those who disapprove of our relationship, particularly patriarchal society.

That's not true.
The previous four lines are a mere exaggeration to express my longing for a traditional wedding ceremony.

But I do want to spend my life with you.
My true desire is to spend the rest of my life with you regardless of society's opinion.

And I want to know that fifty years from now when you're in a hospital room getting ready to die, when visiting hours are for family members only, I want to know they'll let me in to say goodbye.
In the future, when you are in a hospital room and I am not considered family, I want to ensure I am allowed to visit and say goodbye to you in your last moments.

‘Cause I've been fifty years memorizing how the lines beneath your eyes form rivers when you cry and I've held my hand like an ocean at your cheek saying, 'Baby, flow to me.'
Throughout our fifty-year relationship, I have studied how your facial expressions change and have consistently provided comfort when you cry.

‘Cause fifty years I've watched you grow with me fifty years of you never letting go of me, through nightmares and dreams and everything in between From the day I said 'Buy me a ring.'
Since I asked you to marry me fifty years ago, I have seen how you have grown and changed as we faced the ups and downs of life without letting go of each other.

Buy me a ring that will turn my finger green so I can imagine our love is a forest I wanna get lost in you.
I asked for a ring that will turn my finger green so I can be lost in the metaphorical forest of our love.

And I swear I grew like a flower every hour of the fifty years I was with you
Being with you has allowed me to blossom and grow emotionally over the fifty years we have been together.

And that's not to say we didn't have bad days.
Our relationship was not always perfect, and we did have our share of difficult days.

Like the day you said, 'That checkout girl was so sweet.' And I said I'd like to eat that checkout clerk and you said, 'Baby that's not funny' and I said 'Baby, maybe you could take a fucking joke now and then,' and so I slept on the couch that night.
We had an argument when you commented on a checkout girl's appearance, and I made a crude joke which you found offensive, which led to me sleeping on the couch that night.

But when morning came, you were laughing.
Despite our argument, we were able to reconcile, as you woke up laughing the next morning.

Yeah, there were times we were both half-in and half out the door but I never needed more than the stars of your grin to lead me home.
We both had moments where we considered leaving, but the happiness in your smile always gave me a reason to stay.

For fifty years, you were my favorite poem and I'd read you every night knowing I might never understand every word but that's okay – ‘cause the lines of you were the closest thing to holy I'd ever heard.
To me, you were like a favorite poem that I would read every night, admiring every word, even though I may not have understood them all.

You'd say, 'This kind of love has to be a verb. We are paint on a slick canvas – it's gonna take a whole lot to stick but if we do, we'll be a masterpiece.'
You would tell me that our love is an action rather than just a feeling, that we are like paint on a surface that must struggle to stay in place but will become a masterpiece if we persevere.

From the beginning living in towns that frowned at our hand-holding, folding up their stares like hate notes into our pockets so we could pretend they weren't there.
We started our relationship in places that disapproved of our relationship, which made us hide our affection to avoid negative attention.

You said, 'Fear is only a verb if you let it be. Don't you dare let go of my hand.' That was my favorite line.
You once told me to not let fear control my actions, and that I should never let go of your hand, which became my favorite quote from you.

That and the time we saw two boys kissing on the streets in Kansas, and we both broke down crying, because it was Kansas and what are the chances of seeing anything but corn in Kansas? We were born again that day.
The day we saw two boys kiss unexpectedly in Kansas, which has a reputation for being conservative, we both became emotional because it signified a change in societal views and gave us hope.

I cut your cord and you cut mine, and the chords of time played like a concerto of hope Like we could feel the rope unwind, feel the noose of hate loosening, loosening from years of 'People like you aren't welcome here. People like you can't work here. People like you cannot adopt'
We both had to sever ties with our families to be together, but it gave us a sense of hope and relief as we felt society's grip of hatred towards our relationship loosening.

So we had lots of cats and dogs and once even a couple of monkeys you taught to sing, 'Hey, hey, we're the monkeys.' You were crazy like that And I was crazy about you.
We had many pets, including a couple of monkeys that you taught to sing a song, which highlights our playful and unique relationship.

On nights you couldn't sleep, I'd lay awake for hours counting sheep for you and you would rewrite the rhythm of my heartbeat with the way you held me in the morning, resting your head on my chest
When you couldn't sleep, I would stay up counting imaginary sheep to help you sleep, and the way you held me in the morning would calm me and adjust my heartbeat to a peaceful rhythm.

and I swear my breath turned silver the day your hair did, like I swore marigolds grew in the folds of my eyelids the first time I saw you and they bloomed the first time I watched you dance to the tune of our kitchen kettle in our living room
I remember the day your hair turned grey, and how it reminded me of the marigolds I envisioned in my eyelids when I first saw you. I also recall when you danced by the kettle in the living room, which evoked a beautiful and positive moment for us.

in a world that could have left us hard as metal, we were soft as nostalgia together.
Despite living in a world that could have harshened us, we remained tender and nostalgic towards each other.

For fifty years, we feathered wings too wide to be prey and we flew through days strong and through days fragile as sand-castles at high tide
Throughout our fifty years together, we had both strong and fragile days, but we often flew through them gracefully, like birds with unbreakable wings.

and you would fold your love into an origami firefly and you'd throw it through my passageways until all my hidden chambers were filled with lanterns, now, every trap door, every pore of my heart is open because of you Because of us So I do, I do, I do want to be in that room with you.
You used to fold your love into an origami firefly and throw it at me, filling my heart with light and passion for our relationship. Every part of my heart is now open because of our love, and I want to be with you when you take your last breath.

When visiting hours are for family members only, I want to know they'll let me in. I want to know they'll let you hold me while I sing, 'Ba be de bop de ba ba, baby I'm so in love with you. Baby, I'm so in love with you. Ba be de bop ba dingy dong ding – goodbye.'
In your last moments, I want to be by your side even though I am not recognized as family by society. I want you to hold me while I sing a love song to you during your final moments.