Verse 1 When my father died, I stood up straight Shook the hands, carried the weight Made sure my mother was okay Fixed what needed fixing that day Inside I felt it, deep and wide But I kept it all inside Stayed steady, strong, and still Did what I believed I should Pre-Chorus I thought grief meant talking it through Sitting down and sharing with you But when I tried, I lost my ground Silence was the only sound Chorus It came out in motion Not in words Not in long emotional turn sIt came out in sanding wood Restoring the stool we built The stool I built with my dad My grief was quiet, strong, and trueI healed the way I knew Verse 2 Alone one night out in the shop I saw that stool we used to sit on Old and cracked and worn with time But full of him in every line We built it when I was young Board by board, rung by rung We took turns resting on that seat While the other worked on tired feet I pulled it apart the way he showed Cleaned each joint and eased the load Clamped it tight and let it stand Steady again beneath my hands With every stroke across the grain Came a memory, not loud, not pain Not tears falling where I stood But healing moving through the wood Verse 3 One night she looked at me and said,“Why haven’t you grieved your dad?” I said, “I have… just not like you. Let me tell you what I do.” “That stool out there, the one we made, The one time and work had frayed, I brought it back, made it strong. That’s where my grief has been all along.” “That was my grieving. That was my way. Bringing life back to what we made. When it stood strong again and true, Something in me stood up too.” She said, “I thought you were just avoiding his loss” I said, “No… I was reconnecting with him.” Chorus It came out in motion Not in words Not in long emotional turnsIt came out in work and woodIn doing what we always would Restoring what we built by hand Feeling him there as I stand My grief was quiet, deep, and still Bridge You heal in words and holding tight I heal in work and steady light Different roads, but both are real Different ways our hearts can heal Final Chorus Restoring what we built before Opening one quiet door My grief was not what you could see But it was rebuilding me Outro In the grain of wood In the tools we used In the stool we built My father still lives in me
