[Intro] The house is quiet, but I still hear the hallway Old names in the walls, old debts in the doorway Mama, put your hands down, you carried enough Tonight we count the distance from the dust to us [Verse 1] I learned to read a room before I learned to read a page Learned a tired face can hide a thousand unpaid days Mama split one dinner three ways, told us she was full Then she stood beside the sink and made the water run until The landlord's footsteps faded, winter pressed against the glass She kept the heat inside her chest and let the cold air pass I called it being tough back then, I know a better name A woman building shelter out of hunger, work, and pain [Chorus] Put the cup down, let your hands breathe You don't have to carry what you handed me We came from a room where the pipes would sing Now I hear your voice in everything If the past comes knocking, let it wait outside You gave us tomorrow with your sleepless nights I got a full table, but I still understand Every good thing here was built by your hands [Verse 2] Two boys and a girl, you were the hinge, the lock, the door Double shift, bus ride home, then you went back for more I chased quick money thinking cash could make me clean But a new pair of shoes can't change what a child has seen Dad left a silence that could fill the whole first floor You packed that silence in a box and taught us something more Not how to never break, but how to mend the broken part How to leave a harder neighborhood without abandoning your heart [Chorus] Put the cup down, let your hands breathe You don't have to carry what you handed me We came from a room where the pipes would sing Now I hear your voice in everything If the past comes knocking, let it wait outside You gave us tomorrow with your sleepless nights I got a full table, but I still understand Every good thing here was built by your hands [Bridge] Some nights the old apartment visits in a dream Paint peeling by the window, radiator coughing steam I wake up with the weight still pressing on my chest Then I see your picture and remember we survived the rest No crown, no chain, no room full of applause Could ever match the woman who kept standing when she lost So if I ever sound distant, if I ever disappear Know I’m walking back to you, I’m walking back from here [Final Chorus] Put the cup down, let your hands breathe You don't have to carry what you handed me We came from a room where the pipes would sing Now I hear your voice in everything If the past comes knocking, let it wait outside You gave us tomorrow with your sleepless nights I got a full table, and my heart understands Every good thing here was built by your hands [Outro] Mama, no more counting tears in the kitchen light No more saying you're okay when you barely made it through the night We are here, we are fed, we are standing, we are free And every road I take still leads your strength back to me
