**Verse 1 — Age 7** You scraped your knee on the driveway, swore the whole world turned against you. Your hands were small, your shoes untied, your courage still brand new. You didn’t need a speech then, just someone standing near, saying, “That hurt. I know it did. Now let’s get out of here.” **Chorus** Hold fast, little heart. Hold fast, weathered soul. The road will bend, the light will change, but you are still your own. Hold fast when the night comes down. Hold fast when the old winds blow. You don’t have to win the whole damn war. Just take the next step home. **Verse 2 — Age 15** You learned that rooms have weather, that silence can be loud. You watched the cool kids sharpen smiles and disappear into the crowd. You thought everyone had answers, some secret map or key. But most were just as frightened, just better at looking free. **Chorus** Hold fast, little heart. Hold fast, weathered soul. The road will bend, the light will change, but you are still your own. Hold fast when the night comes down. Hold fast when the old winds blow. You don’t have to win the whole damn war. Just take the next step home. **Verse 3 — Age 29** You signed your name to leases, lost love in ugly light. You learned that being tired doesn’t mean you’re losing the fight. Some dreams came dressed as invoices, some friends became a ghost. You found out growing older means grieving what you chose. **Chorus** Hold fast, little heart. Hold fast, weathered soul. The road will bend, the light will change, but you are still your own. Hold fast when the night comes down. Hold fast when the old winds blow. You don’t have to win the whole damn war. Just take the next step home. **Verse 4 — Age 43** You’ve got names you do not mention, old rooms you never enter. A box of almost-was-it-worth-it somewhere near your center. But there’s coffee in the morning, there’s music in the wires. There are people who still call you, and a few remaining fires. **Chorus** Hold fast, little heart. Hold fast, weathered soul. The road will bend, the light will change, but you are still your own. Hold fast when the night comes down. Hold fast when the old winds blow. You don’t have to win the whole damn war. Just take the next step home. **Verse 5 — Age 68** You move a little slower, but you see the rooms more clearly. You waste less time on proving, you love more plainly, dearly. The years took what they came for, but they left you with this art: how to sit beside another without rushing past the dark. **Final Chorus** Hold fast, little heart. Hold fast, weathered soul. The road will bend, the light will change, but you are still your own. Hold fast when the night comes down. Hold fast when the old winds blow. You don’t have to win the whole damn war. Just take the next step home. **Outro — Mantra** Next step home. Next step home. Next step home. Breathe in. Hold fast. Next step home. Breathe in. Hold fast. Next step home.
