[Intro]
Well, the notice says three inches, and the lilac says no
The chalk line's blue and steady where the old footings go

[Verse 1]
I snapped a blue chalk line against the Legion wall
Set my steel-toe boot down square and level for them all
The City of Thunder Bay had papers in a file
I had roots beneath the frost line and a bush with honest style

[Chorus]
You never give an eighth away
Once the living footings set
Let the officials measure twice
That lilac ain't surrendered yet
Three inches past the property line
Still standing proud and true
Load-bearing community integrity
Is what them purple blossoms do

[Verse 2]
At the Committee of Adjustment, I presented Exhibit A
A Stanley tape measure, two cold hands, and what the roots would say
I told them Canadian Shield had grandfathered shear strength down below
One young man blinked at his paperwork and asked me where to go

Brenda said, "Joe, take hedge clippers, make the whole thing disappear"
I said, "Brenda, that's how shortcuts turn a footing into fear"
She poured my thermos espresso, sighed beside the folding chair
I said, "A branch can cross a boundary without becoming unfair"

[Chorus]
You never give an eighth away
Once the living footings set
Let the officials measure twice
That lilac ain't surrendered yet
Three inches past the property line
Still standing proud and true
Load-bearing community integrity
Is what them purple blossoms do

[Bridge]
I have walked from fast and cheap jobs, watched a slab heave in the rain
I have seen a silver maple lift a driveway through the grain
So if a bush has held its ground through winter, thaw, and debt
You don't call it an encroachment just because the line got wet

[Verse 3]
The chair said, "Mr. Pagano, is this really worth the fight?"
I said, "Sir, every stable structure starts by getting right"
My voice went low and gravelly, my Southern drawl went wide
The lilac shook its little blooms like it had counsel on its side

Outside, my F-550 coughed diesel in the morning air
The hearing clerk looked toward the lot and found the bush still there
I signed the form with concrete dust beneath my thumbnail set
Then told them, "Let the roots decide; they ain't finished settling yet"

[Final Chorus]
You never give an eighth away
Once the living footings set
Let the officials measure twice
That lilac ain't surrendered yet
Three inches past the property line
Still standing proud and true
Load-bearing community integrity
Is what them purple blossoms do

You never give an eighth away
Not for panic, rain, or debt
If the footing holds beneath the frost
You let the living settle yet

[Outro]
The notice curled, the coffee dried, the blue line faded thin
But the lilac kept its variance
And the roots kept holding in