[Verse 1] She forced their will into my body when I was still a child Locked the doors and set the fire, left me burning in the night A stranger ran into the flames to pull me out alive I told him leave me here to die… he carried me out anyway I sent away a quiet piece of me, to keep the dark asleep Left it resting in the cold, while the rest of me stayed behind With wounds that would not close And nights that never learned how to end [Verse 2] A gentle hand stayed by my side through every endless hour of hurt She spoke soft when no one would, tried to ease what she could A kind man found that quiet soul and raised her as his own Gave her a home without the shadows, where she could belong While the woman who bore me tried to drag that piece away When the darkness called her back, he walked into the nightmare Risked everything he had to find and protect his little girl [Chorus] He was the only father I would ever know First he held the quiet half of me Then he held all of me, when I began again The only light that stayed when everything else burned [Piano Solo] [Verse 3] Years later they found us in the quiet life he built They took him from me in the dark to fill my heart with hate They wanted me to birth their perfect world of endless night To erase the kindness and the love that kept me in the light I went back to that town and did what had to be done I refused the bitter seed they tried to grow inside I spit out their "paradise", left their demon there to die I chose the living world… the one he fought for [Final Chorus / Outro] I take the name he gave me first, and make it mine again Cheryl… the name he spoke when he still held me close I choose to live, and carry every memory of his love The only father I would ever know… and I will not forget
