[Intro – spoken,] Sometimes I close my eyes... And I'm right back there. Bare feet, screen doors, summer nights... We didn't know we were making memories. We were just being kids. [Verse 1] We rode our bikes until the sun went down Chased fireflies all over town Played hide-and-seek beneath the trees Came home with grass stains on our knees Jumped rope, played tag in the street Ran through sprinklers in the summer heat Sunday drives with the radio loud Singing our hearts out with the whole family crowd [Pre-Chorus] We thought tomorrow would always come We never knew how fast we'd grow Didn't know those little days Would be the ones we'd miss the most [Chorus] I was just a girl learning how to live Learning how to love, learning how to give Learning how to fall and get back up Learning that sometimes life gets tough I learned to laugh, I learned to cry I learned to lose, I learned to try Every good day, every hard year Helped make the woman standing here [Verse 2] Birthday candles, homemade cake Christmas mornings before daylight break Rainy afternoons inside the house Making up games and running around We had good days, we had bad nights Family arguments, tears and fights Some words hurt and some people left But every hard time taught me something else I learned that people aren't always right That love can hurt and still survive I learned forgiveness doesn't mean forget And sometimes leaving is how you protect yourself [Pre-Chorus] Through every high Through every low There were lessons I needed to know [Chorus] I was just a girl learning how to live Learning how to love, learning how to give Learning how to fall and get back up Learning that sometimes life gets tough I learned to laugh, I learned to cry I learned to lose, I learned to try Every good day, every hard year Helped make the woman standing here [Bridge – stripped down] "Tell the truth." "Be kind." "Work hard." "Take care of your people." "Stand up for yourself." "Don't let the world make you bitter." Some lessons came from love... Some came from mistakes... And some I learned the hard way. [Final Chorus – powerful] I was just a girl learning how to live Learning how to love, learning how to give Every scar, every smile, every tear I cried Helped build the woman standing here tonight I learned that life can break your heart And still be beautiful from the very start Every memory, every year Brought me to the woman standing here I'm still that little girl sometimes Still carrying those memories And everything I learned along the way Is still a part of me [Outro – soft] I wish I could go back Just one more time... Not to change a thing. Just to tell that little girl... "You'll make it." "You'll be okay." [Soft piano, acoustic guitar, mournful fiddle fade]
