[Intro - Spoken over Rhodes] Little man... Yeah, it's me. I found you. I'm here now. [Verse 1] Found you sitting on the carpet back in '99, Action figures scattered, shoes untied, Mama at the window saying "he gon' come by," And you believing every time. You learned to make yourself small before you learned to grow, Learned to read a room before you learned to read, You thought if you were perfect, if you got straight A's, Maybe he would finally see. [Pre-Chorus] I watched you wait by that phone, Thinking love was something you had to earn, And I watched you turn that ache into stone, But little man, it's my turn. So I love you, when nobody ever taught you how to stay, I hold you, on the nights you swore the dark would take you away, You did nothing wrong, do you hear me? Nothing wrong, He was gone 'cause he was broken, not 'cause you weren't strong. So lay your head right here, on my chest, let me be your home, You ain't abandoned, you ain't alone, you ain't alone no more.[Chorus] [Verse 2 - Grown Man confessing] I gotta apologize, for how long I left you there, I was mad at you for crying, mad 'cause you still cared, I put you in a box and I called it being a man, Built these walls so high, forgot you were still in there with shaking hands. Every woman I pushed away, that was you scared to be left, Every "I'm good, I'm fine," that was you holding your breath, I was trying to be my father so I wouldn't become him, And in doing that, I abandoned you again. [Refrain - Child's Voice, small] I waited by the driveway, Kept his t-shirt under my pillow, Thought if I stayed quiet, Maybe I wouldn't be so hard to love. [Chorus 2 - Call & Response] Me: I love you, You: Even when I cry too much? Me: Especially when you cry too much. Me: I see you, You: Even when I'm not tough? Me: Boy, you never had to be tough for me. You did nothing wrong, do you hear me? Nothing wrong, He was gone 'cause he was empty, not 'cause you weren't enough. So lay your head right here, on my chest, let me be your home, You ain't abandoned, you ain't alone, you ain't alone no more. [Bridge 1 - The Conversation, Neo Soul Breakdown] You ask me: Do you think he'll ever come back around? I tell you: Nah, little brother, but look - I came back around. You ask me: Do you think I'm worth keeping? I tell you: You were always worth keeping, worth more than diamonds, more than reasons. You say: My voice shake when I try to say what I need, I say: Then shake, baby, shake. This house is safe to bleed. [Verse 3 - The Re-Parenting] So let me be the one who shows up on time, Let me be the one who ties your shoes and tells you you shine, Let me be the arms that never learned to leave, Let me be the man that you needed him to be. I'ma teach your hands how to be soft and still be strong, Teach your heart how to stay when everything feels wrong, Teach you love ain't loud, it don't slam doors, It's here in the quiet, it's sitting on the floor with you. [Bridge 2 - The Forgiveness, Falsetto & Harmony] I forgive him, so you don't have to carry that weight, I release him, so your heart can finally break... and then heal, What he couldn't give, baby, I will give to you, What he couldn't be, baby, I will be to you, I will be to you, I will be to you. [Break - Almost whisper] Look at me, little man. You survived. You tender, you beautiful, you survived. [Final Chorus - Full Band, Choir] And I love you (I love you), from your scraped knees to your grown man fears, I hold you (I hold you), let me catch up on all of those years, You did nothing wrong, you were just a boy who wanted his dad, But you got me, you got me, and I'm all the father we ever had. So lay your head right here, on my chest, let me be your home, You ain't abandoned, you ain't alone, You ain't alone, You ain't alone no more. [Outro - Child resting] You gon' stay? Little man, I'm not going nowhere again. Promise? Promise. I love you. I love you too. [Fade on Rhodes, heartbeat kick, humming]
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