[Verse 1] I knew how to raise a boy, Or at least I thought I did. Teach him how to take a fall And get back up again. I saw pieces of myself in him, In every lesson learned. Then God placed a little girl In these old calloused hands. And somehow all the strength in me Learned how to be gentle then. [Chorus] It’s not more love, It’s a different kind. A son can make you proud When he stands up by your side. But a daughter finds a place in you You never knew could open wide. She wraps her hand around your finger And somehow changes you. No, it’s not more love. It’s just different when she calls you “Daddy” too. [Verse 2] Then somewhere down the road My little girl began to grow. And every boy who came around Made me finally understand. Every look her granddad gave me When I came to take her mom. I thought he was just protective then. Now I know what he was thinking all along. He wasn’t trying to keep her. He just needed to believe When he could no longer guard her, I would stand where he had been. [Chorus] It’s not more love, It’s a different kind. A son can make you proud. A daughter makes you search a man’s heart. Will he honor what she gives him? Will he stay when life gets hard? Will he treat her like she matters And protect her tender heart? No, it’s not more love. A father knows the truth. You love your sons with all you are, But a daughter changes something in you. [Bridge] I don’t need him to be perfect. Lord knows I never was. I just need him to understand What he’s being trusted with. I need a man who’ll pray beside her, Not just promise her the world. A man who knows the weight Of loving somebody’s little girl. Because one day my hands will weaken. One day I won’t be standing near. And I pray the man who takes her hand Will guard what I held dear. [Final Chorus] It’s not more love, It’s a different kind. A son may carry on your name. A daughter carries how you loved her For the rest of her life. And someday when I place her hand Inside another man’s, I’ll understand her granddad More than I ever thought I can. I won’t be giving her away. She’ll always be my little girl. I’ll just be trusting someone else To stand beside her in this world. [Outro] Years ago her granddad looked at me The way I look at them today. Funny how becoming her father Made me understand him that way.
