[Intro — solo piano fingerpicked, sustained string pad enters underneath very gently, no drums] [Verse 1 — close-mic intimate, piano only, voice almost speaking] I was seven in the Nature Garden The trees were taller than the sky I sat down with my back against the oldest And I felt the whole world breathing The air was bright with something I didn't have a word for then I could see the love between the leaves And I knew that I belonged I knew it the way children know Before the world arrives to teach That what you are is not a problem That what you are is full of light [Pre-Chorus — strings warm slightly underneath, piano sustains, voice stays close] Then I grew up and I forgot Then I grew up and I was told That I was less than what I knew at seven That my worth was something sold [Chorus — same emotional register as verses, strings present but not climbing, piano warmer] But I was right at seven And the trees still know my name The little kid who saw the love between things Was right all along the way I am not what they told me I am not the years of pain I am the soul that sat against the oak tree And I am the soul that remains I am the soul that remains [Verse 2 — piano fuller, soft cello enters underneath, voice carries weight without climbing] I lost things I cannot count now I lost dollars I cannot say I lost the certainty of who I'd become And I lost myself along the way I learned that patience is not a thing That always comes when called I learned that being a person at forty-three Means having had to fall But somewhere underneath the wreckage Of who I thought I had to be There's a seven-year-old still in the garden And he's still seeing what he sees [Pre-Chorus — strings widen slightly, voice stays close] He didn't lose what I let slip He didn't forget the air He's been waiting in the Nature Garden For me to find him there [Chorus — same restraint, slight added warmth, no climb] And I was right at seven And the trees still know my name The little kid who saw the love between things Was right all along the way I am not what they told me I am not the years of pain I am the soul that sat against the oak tree And I am the soul that remains I am the soul that remains [Bridge — piano alone, strings drop out, voice closest of the whole song, breath audible] I'm tired and I'm broken And I'm forty-three and lost But the love I saw between the leaves Was not a thing I could exhaust It was already in me Before the world arrived And the part of me that's been hurting Is not the part of me that survived The little kid in the garden Is still in the garden waiting And every time I close my eyes I can feel him holding The truth I came in with The truth I almost lost That we are not what we were told we are That we are made of love at any cost [Final Chorus — strings return underneath but never swell, piano steady, voice stays in same register, no climb] And I was right at seven And the trees still know my name The little kid who saw the love between things Was right all along the way I am not what they told me I am not the years of pain I am the soul that sat against the oak tree And I am the soul that remains I am the soul that remains I am the soul that remains [Outro — piano slows, strings sustain low, voice close and quiet, breath audible] I was seven in the Nature Garden And the air was full of love I was right then And I'm right now The trees still know my name
