[Verse 1] Before I knew the cost of standing on my own You made a place where I was always known You let me learn which battles I could choose And never made me smaller when I’d lose I grew into a man while you were watching close Through every stubborn year I needed most Now time has turned the picture back on me I understand what I was too young to see The patience and the strength it must have took To love somebody past the way things looked And Mom, if there’s some good I’ve carried through I know exactly where I learned it—you [Chorus] Some people leave a mark without leaving a scar They know where you’ve been and still know who you are They’ve seen every version, the worst and the best And somehow their presence puts something to rest No debt to be settled, no score to defend No measuring who gave more in the end The years make it clearer what mattered and why Who’s there for the laughter when everything’s right I’ve had enough living to know what is rare It’s not who comes looking when something goes wrong It’s who wants your happiness almost as much as their own Those are the people I’m grateful I’ve known [Verse 2] Then two little lives put their trust into mine And suddenly years had a different design I watched little hands become capable hands And questions grow into opinions and plans There were miles in the car and arguments too A thousand small moments I never outgrew Now childhood is moving beyond my control And I’m proud of the people becoming their own I don’t need their footsteps to follow my track I want them to leave knowing they can come back Beckett and Miley, wherever life moves There’s nothing you ever could do to lose The place that you hold or the love that is yours Some things aren’t conditional—this one endures [Chorus] Some people leave a mark without leaving a scar They know where you’ve been and still know who you are They’ve seen every version, the worst and the best And somehow their presence puts something to rest No debt to be settled, no score to defend No measuring who gave more in the end The years make it clearer what mattered and why Who’s there for the laughter when everything’s right I’ve had enough living to know what is rare It’s not who comes looking when something goes wrong It’s who wants your happiness almost as much as their own Those are the people I’m grateful I’ve known [Verse 3] Eight years can make distance a difficult thing Long enough to stop trusting what waiting might bring We had every good reason to leave it alone Two separate lives and an ocean between Then distance became something measured in miles Not years of imagining somebody’s smile I learned what your hand actually feels like in mine How ordinary mornings can alter a life Daisy, we didn’t arrive here untouched We learned what survives when the easy part doesn’t And after the waiting, the leaving, the doubt We finally gave ourselves time to find out Now love isn’t something I’m hoping comes true It’s something I’m living, and living with you [Final Chorus] Some people leave a mark without leaving a scar They know where you’ve been and still know who you are My mother, my children, the woman I chose Three different stories, one thing that I know Love isn’t measured by grand declarations It’s years of attention and small conversations It’s knowing the history and staying for more It’s laughing together when nothing went wrong It’s wanting their happiness almost as much as your own And giving them room to become who they’ll become I’ve had enough living to recognize this: A fortunate life isn’t measured in things It’s knowing the names of the people you’d miss And knowing your name means the same thing to them [Outro] So here’s to the ones who have witnessed the years The changes, the distance, the laughter, the tears To Mom, who was there before I understood To Beckett and Miley, becoming their own To Daisy, who crossed all those years into mine And friends who can disappear months at a time Then sit down beside you and pick up the thread Without keeping count of the things left unsaid If age has taught anything worth passing on It’s pay close attention to who comes along Not everyone stays, and they don’t have to do it But when somebody does, make damn sure that they know it
