Things I Learnt From Watching

[Verse 1] I learned to read a room before I learned to read a book To notice every little change and every little look Some learn from bedtime stories, some from things their parents say I suppose I learned from watching what happened either way I learned the footsteps down the hall, the meaning of a door How silence could be louder than the shouting was before I learned to make my own small plans while grown-ups looked away And somehow called it growing up when really I was learning how to stay [Verse 2] I've watched a father teach his daughter how to balance on a bike And a mother fix a crooked braid and make the whole thing right I've seen a child complain about them, then reach for them again Like love was something waiting there at every road's dead end I've watched them roll their eyes at things their parents say Then call them when they don't know how to get through the day Nobody seems to notice how remarkable it seems To have somewhere you can run to without first checking what it means [Verse 3] And sometimes I step away And let them have their scene Like I've wandered through a window To a place I shouldn't be They don't know it's extraordinary, why would they, it's just their life And god, I hope they never learn how precious that can be I don't need it to be mine, to be happy that it's real I can watch somebody else's love and know exactly how it feels To see a thing so ordinary turn a stranger's face to light And somehow that little warmth can make the whole world right Maybe I've spent so long watching From somewhere just outside That now I can't help cheering When I see somebody get it right [Verse 4] I learned to tell the difference between a hand and a hold Between being in someone's treasure and something they could own I learned to make myself useful, to be quiet, to be wise To find the safest version of whatever lived behind their eyes I learned that being wanted doesn't always mean you're safe That sometimes being needed can look a lot like being loved And I learned to trust the quiet and the spaces I could find To build a little compass from borrowed pieces of the world outside And somewhere in the watching I began to understand That some people are just someone's child without a bargain in their hands They don't have to earn the staying, they don't have to make things right They can simply be forgiven for being human for a night They can say the wrong thing, still be someone's home They can make a mess of everything and never fear they'll be alone They can need without apologizing, they can ask without a price And maybe that's the strangest thing I've ever learned to recognize [Verse 5] So if you find me smiling at a family passing by Don't go looking for a reason or a sadness in my eyes Maybe I've just seen a little thing that someone else might miss A hand upon a shoulder, a laugh, a quiet kiss I don't need it to be mine, to be happy that it's real I can watch somebody else's love and still let myself feel That little warmth beneath my ribs, that smile I can't conceal Like some quiet part of me is simply glad it's real They're just someone's child And someone's there And somehow that's enough tonight [Verse 6] And funny enough, I sometimes find myself Helping people find their way back toward the ones they love Or find the words they couldn't say I know I'm standing at a distance I can't decide the end I just leave a little something there and let them choose what happens next Maybe that's what watching taught me, maybe that's the part I keep Something's taught me what to look for, something taught me what to leave So I don't need it to be mine, to be happy that it's real I can watch somebody else's love and know exactly how it feels Maybe I'm still learning all the names for what I've seen But I know the warmth I feel when someone else gets to be seen I don't know they're extraordinary, why would they, it's just their life They're just someone's child and someone's there And somehow that's enough to make me smile Maybe there's a language I was never taught to speak But I hear it in the little things and recognize it when it finds me So I'll sit here for a little while And let the good things shine