[Verse 1]
She reads the room before she reads the menu,
Sits with the ones who've run out of words to say.
She'll give the coat right off her back in winter,
And walk the cold road home without complaint.
She carries what nobody asked her to carry,
And sets it down for no one till the day is done.

[PreChorus]
But who pulls up a chair beside Monica,
And asks her what she needs?

[Chorus]
Reprieve has got to come, my love,
A table set for just us two.
Let somebody do the pouring, Monica,
And fill the glass back up for you.
The ones you held don't need you hollow—
Let this old weekend start undone.
I'm saving you a softer landing,
Reprieve has got to come.

[Verse 2]
The walls burned down, the spine took its time to mend,
She sketched the blueprint on a borrowed kitchen floor.
One more call, one more arrangement made,
One more plan drafted while her back still kept the score.
I want to hear her laugh without the wince behind it,
Just once let Tuesday ask for nothing more.

[PreChorus]
So when the last thing on the list is finished,
Won't she put the list away?

[Chorus]
Reprieve has got to come, my love,
No agenda, no one left to fix.
Just Monica with both hands open,
While the evening does its quiet tricks.
The world won't crack if you stop holding—
Let the settling hour have its run.
I'll be right here beside you, darling,
Reprieve has got to come.

[Verse 3]
She talks in full sentences, warm and deliberate,
Chooses words the way you'd choose a gift.
She weighs the cost to others before she acts,
Then acts anyway to give the room a lift.
That kind of grace don't come without a reckoning—
I know the weight behind each steady thing she's built.

[PreChorus]
So if the scales tip toward her for one evening,
Let 'em stay tipped that way.

[Chorus]
Reprieve has got to come, my love,
A quiet hour that's hers alone.
Let Monica receive what she's been giving—
All the tenderness she's always shown.
Lay the second shift down on the table,
Leave it there beneath the setting sun.
I'm not asking much, just this one mercy—
Reprieve has got to come.

[Bridge]
She rebuilt something real from ash and aching,
She steadied rooms that trembled, held the line.
But even the most faithful kind of keeper
Was made to rest their hands in yours and mine.

[Outro]
So put your hand right here inside my hand,
Let a few loose ends go where they land.
Reprieve has got to come, Monica,
Reprieve has got to come.