[Intro — low piano, tape hiss, distant guitar] They said, “You made it.” Like that settled something. [Verse 1] There’s a crack in the doorway I remember being small. The kitchen smells the same, but the pictures moved along the wall. Someone painted over where I measured out my height. Someone sleeps inside the room I used to swear was mine. And everybody knows me. That’s the strange part. Everybody says my name like I never left. [Pre-Chorus] I know every street. I know every door. I don’t know what I came back for. [Chorus] I’M THE MAN WHO CAME HOME TO A HOUSE THAT MOVED ON. EVERYTHING I FOUGHT TO RETURN TO LEARNED TO LIVE WITH ME GONE. THEY THROW THEIR ARMS AROUND ME LIKE I’VE FINALLY WON— BUT I DON’T KNOW WHO THEY’RE HOLDING. I DON’T KNOW WHO CAME HOME. [Verse 2] My brother has my father’s hands now. My mother’s hair is grey. The dog I used to whistle for has been gone eight years today. There’s a kid across the table wearing my old winter coat. He asks me for a story. I give him one I never told. I leave out all the screaming. Leave out everyone I lost. Make the ending sound like victory. Let him think it was worth the cost. [Pre-Chorus] They keep saying, “You’re safe now.” Like safety is a place. Like you can cross a doorway and become your old shape. [Chorus] I’M THE MAN WHO CAME HOME TO A HOUSE THAT MOVED ON. EVERYTHING I FOUGHT TO RETURN TO LEARNED TO LIVE WITH ME GONE. THEY THROW THEIR ARMS AROUND ME LIKE I’VE FINALLY WON— BUT I DON’T KNOW WHO THEY’RE HOLDING. I DON’T KNOW WHO CAME HOME. [Bridge — beat drops, voice close] I thought home would recognize me. I thought the walls would pull me in. I thought I’d hang my coat up, wash the road off, start again. But the road came through the doorway. It followed me inside. Now I’m lying in the bed where I learned how to dream— trying to remember who I was before I survived. [Build — drums and guitar rising] Maybe that boy is gone. Maybe he should be. Maybe coming home was never going backward. Maybe home is where they let you change. [Final Chorus — full band] I’M THE MAN WHO CAME HOME AND I DON’T FIT LIKE BEFORE. BUT THEY LEFT A LIGHT BURNING AND THEY STILL OPENED THE DOOR. SO I’LL SIT AT THIS TABLE. I’LL LEARN THEIR NAMES AGAIN. I’LL STOP TRYING TO BE WHO I WAS BACK THEN. I’M THE MAN WHO CAME HOME. NOT THE BOY WHO WAS GONE. MAYBE HOME ISN’T WAITING. MAYBE HOME IS MOVING ON. [Outro — piano, soft guitar] They said, “You made it.” This time— I believed them.
