[Verse 1] I stay a few steps back by the kitchen door Half-listening while they argue what their band should be called One’s got my old jacket, one hates the color blue One won’t touch my tool box, one builds with it anyway I hand back a name tag, let them write their own A little guidance, then I let them take the wheel Their lives fill up the room before I ever speak [Pre-Chorus] I’ll point if they ask I’ll wait if they need No one grows by standing in my shadow They can be the loud part I can be the seat That’s where the steady lives [Chorus] They keep rolling, line by line Different habits, different minds One leaves early, one stays up One is raising kids, one lives out west I keep to the side, keep the porch light on Not the center, just the backup song Every step they’ve made on their own Makes a bigger house feel like home [Verse 2] At school pickup, under the cracked asphalt awning I hear them talk about jobs, tattoos, and rent One’s got a partner with a dented silver van One’s got a kid who steals all the crayons I don’t need to be the reason they arrive Just the person they can call when the day goes sideways A phone in the drawer, a chair by the wall A place to land without taking up it all [Pre-Chorus] I say what I know Then let it go They don’t need my hands on every door frame They’ve got their own keys Their own names Their own way through the frame [Chorus] They keep rolling, line by line Different habits, different minds One leaves early, one stays up One is raising kids, one lives out west I keep to the side, keep the porch light on Not the center, just the backup song Every step they’ve made on their own Makes a bigger house feel like home [Bridge] Late calls, quick texts, “Can I run this by you?” A flat tire, a bad week, a kid with a fever I don’t steer the whole road I just help them see it Then they go back to building Their own little worlds And if they don’t call for months That means they’re living Means they’re busy being who they are I’m proud of the distance Proud of the part I played A shadow on the wall Not the one they chase [Chorus] They keep rolling, line by line Different habits, different minds One leaves early, one stays up One is raising kids, one lives out west I keep to the side, keep the porch light on Not the center, just the backup song Every step they’ve made on their own Makes a bigger house feel like home [Outro] Their names out front My voice behind A hand to hold Then let them climb Old chair Warm light I’m still here Out of sight
