Verse 1 6 feet tall, blue-eyed charm entered my life when I was 10 I’d watch him laugh, banjo in hand Tryin’ my best to be half that man Verse 2 He could light up a crowded bar He played chess and he could lift a car And when he’d nod and said my name I’d stood a little straighter in the flame Chorus But I grew older than my years somehow Standin’ guard in a angry house Listenin’ close for a rise in tone Prayin’ days would just pass on I learned early how to read the room When to speak and when to leave A boy don’t grow the way he should When he’s keepin’ peace instead of bein’ understood Bridge How tiny the case, they could clash Doors was slammed, Doors got smashed My greatest fear was, When she left the house, crying and yelling in public sight Vers 3 Through the years the happiness was dying He was shouting, she was crying And I never really understood Why no one intervened from the neighbourhood Chorus I got older than my years that way Tryin’ to keep the peace day by day Fearing phone calls could ruin it all Introducing matters I could'nt control I knew which stories could calm them down Which jokes could turn the mood around But a boy should never have to choose Between his childhood and keepin’ adults close Verse 4 He wasn’t always hard as stone There were nights we felt like home Teachin’ me chords on an old five-string Sayin’ “son, you can be anything” Verse 5 He helped me, become a man But confusion grew month by month When the same hands that helped me stand Also punched me more than once Final Chorus Now as father, I see it clear How love and fear can live so near I carry both, but I made a vow No kid should be an ambassador A kid shouldn’t learn to read a room The way I did before I bloomed They should stay young more than I was allowed No kid shall be the calm in the cloud Outro I still hear him when I play my guitar Every chord, keeps a little scar He shaped me — in ways - he didn’t knew But I came through the shadows that he grew Repeat I still hear him when I play my guitar Every chord, keeps a little scar He shaped me — in ways he didn’t knew But I came through the shadows that he grew
