[Verse 1] I've been carrying a version of me I couldn't stand Dragging all his mistakes around like weights inside my hand I'd catch him in the mirror and I'd look away in shame This kid who broke the promises, who fumbled, who's to blame But I sat with him this morning, saw him clearer than before Just a scared kid doing everything he knew to keep the score He didn't have the map yet, he was lost inside the dark He was fighting a whole war with a pocketknife and a heart [Pre-Chorus] So I said the words I never thought that I could say To the kid I used to be To the one I threw away [Chorus] I forgive you, I forgive you You did the best you could with what they gave to you You were young and you were hurting And you didn't know the way Put the weight down now I forgive you, you can rest today Every wrong turn that you took Every bridge you had to burn You were learning how to live In the only way you'd learn I'm not angry anymore I'm just proud you made it through You can lay it down forever now I forgive you [Verse 2] 'Cause you can't hate yourself into a version you'll be proud of You don't heal the wound by hiding, you heal it with some love And the harshest judge I ever met was the one behind my eyes Handing sentences to a kid who was just trying to survive So I'm setting down the gavel, I'm calling off the case Giving to myself the thing I give the whole human race 'Cause if grace is only grace when it's for everybody else Then the last one on the earth to get it can't be yourself [Chorus] I forgive you, I forgive you You did the best you could with what they gave to you You were young and you were hurting And you didn't know the way Put the weight down now I forgive you, you can rest today Every wrong turn that you took Every bridge you had to burn You were learning how to live In the only way you'd learn I'm not angry anymore I'm just proud you made it through You can lay it down forever now I forgive you [Bridge] And to whoever's out there choking on a thing you can't take back Replaying every failure like it's stitched into your back That person that you're punishing already paid the price They've been serving out a sentence every single lonely night Let 'em out Let 'em go Let the old ghost finally sleep You were never gonna hate your way to somebody you'd keep Say it soft, say it now Say it 'til the tears run through I forgive you I forgive you I forgive you [Final Chorus] I forgive you, I forgive you You did the best you could with what they gave to you You were young and you were hurting And you didn't know the way Put the weight down now I forgive you, you can rest today Every wrong turn that you took Every bridge you had to burn You were learning how to live In the only way you'd learn I'm not angry anymore I'm just proud you made it through You can lay it down forever now I forgive you [Outro] I forgive you The kid you were, the one you buried I forgive you You can rest now
