[Verse 1] I've been walking backwards through the corridors of time Tracing every footstep, every reason, every rhyme That led me to the moment when I chose the other door Now I'm haunted by the ghost of what I was before The autumn leaves are falling like the chances that I missed And I'm drowning in the sorrow of the life that don't exist [Chorus] But regret is just a thief that steals your present day Takes the energy you need and throws it all away On shadows and on echoes of the paths you didn't take While the future's calling softly, "Come, for heaven's sake" There's a world of possibility beyond this backward glance If you'd only turn around and give tomorrow half a chance [Verse 2] I've been carrying these stones of all my wrong decisions made Like a backpack full of sorrow that will never fade Every "should have" is a weight upon my weary soul Every "could have been" another shovel full of coal On the fire of my anguish, burning bright but giving no warmth Just the bitter taste of winter heading north [Chorus] But regret is just a thief that steals your present day Takes the energy you need and throws it all away On shadows and on echoes of the paths you didn't take While the future's calling softly, "Come, for heaven's sake" There's a world of possibility beyond this backward glance If you'd only turn around and give tomorrow half a chance [Verse 3] Then I met this old man sitting by the riverside Said "Son, you look like someone who's been running from the tide But the water keeps on flowing, never stops to look behind And maybe there's a lesson there for your troubled mind" He pointed to the current, how it dances toward the sea "That's the only direction that will ever set you free" [Bridge] Oh, the past is just a teacher, not a prison or a chain Every mistake's a lesson, every loss is someone's gain In wisdom, in compassion, in the strength to carry on The sunrise needs the darkness to announce that night is gone So let the dead weight fall away like leaves upon the ground And listen to the music in tomorrow's sound [Verse 4] I started walking forward with my face turned to the light Left my bag of stones behind me, stepped into the night That leads to morning, leads to hope, leads to something new The energy I'd wasted on the things I couldn't undo Now flows like springtime water toward the garden of what's next Where the soil is rich with possibility, unvexed [Chorus] 'Cause regret is just a thief that steals your present day Takes the energy you need and throws it all away On shadows and on echoes of the paths you didn't take While the future's calling softly, "Come, for heaven's sake" There's a world of possibility beyond this backward glance When you finally turn around and give tomorrow half a chance [Verse 5] Now I wake each morning lighter than the day before All that weight I used to carry doesn't hurt me anymore The birds sing sweet liberation in the branches overhead And I realize I've been living, not just wishing I was dead To the person that I was before I learned this simple truth That forward motion's fountain of eternal youth [Final Chorus] Regret was just a thief that stole my present days Took the energy I needed, threw it all away On shadows and on echoes of the paths I didn't take But the future's calling loudly now, "Come, for heaven's sake" There's a world of possibility beyond this backward glance Now I've finally turned around and given life a chance (Outro) Forward, always forward, like the river to the sea Forward, always forward, that's the only way to be free Keep on Movin, Keep on Grooving Dancin' in the Dark, Take a breath in the perfect moment and find your spark
