[Genre: Contemporary Broadway Power Ballad with Pop Elements] [Tempo: 108 BPM, 3/4 Time Signature] [Key: F minor to A-flat major (emotional shift)] [Piano, Strings, Light Percussion] [Quiet Verse - Female Vocalist, Intimate Piano] Dad, the clock ticks on your bedside stand Words stuck in my throat like broken glass Twenty years of things I should have said But pride and fear kept locked away [Pre-Chorus - Building Intensity, String Entrance] All those birthdays when I pulled away All those Christmas calls cut way too short Now your hand in mine feels light as air And there's no time to waste anymore [Powerful Chorus - Full Orchestra] The words are simple but they're hard to say "I love you" shouldn't take a lifetime "I love you" shouldn't take a lifetime Your breath grows shallow as the doctors wait And all our somedays are running out of time Running out of time [Verse 2 - Female Vocalist, Piano Focus, Quieter Dynamic] Remember fishing at the old lake house? You taught patience while I learned to cast I wanted so much to make you proud But I never told you how I felt back then [Bridge - Dramatic Key Change, Percussion Builds] We built walls so high Neither one could climb Your stubbornness, my pride Now they fall away As you slip away All the things we'll never say [Orchestral Break - Emotional Crescendo] [Final Chorus - Belted Vocals, Full Orchestration] The words are simple but they're hard to say "I love you" shouldn't take a lifetime I hold your hand as you start to fade And I finally find the courage just in time Just in time [Soft Outro - Piano Only, Whispered] "I forgive you, Dad. I hope you forgive me too."