[Verse 1] There was a version of you made out of steel Soft with your words, but your backbone was real Single mom fire with the world on your back Somehow made home out of what we still lacked You were patient, you were strong You made hard days feel less long I thought if you could walk through flame Then I could learn to do the same [Pre-Chorus] You were the first face of courage I knew The first proof a woman could make it through But memory changes when a child gets grown And love looks different when the truth gets shown [Chorus] There were so many versions of you Some of them holy, some of them cruel Some that held me, some let me drown Some wore a halo, some burned the house down I spent my whole life trying to excuse The things you did when life damaged you But grown-up eyes can finally see the truth There were so many versions of you [Verse 2] Then came the season you called it faith But it looked more like giving yourself away You followed man like it was Godโs own voice Called it devotion, but it was still your choice You took every word like law and light Even when love didnโt feel love inside And when I needed mother more than prayer You stood beside him while I disappeared [Pre-Chorus] I used to think you were too hurt to see Now I know pain doesnโt erase responsibility You had your reasons, I know thatโs true But reasons arenโt the same as what you chose to do [Chorus] There were so many versions of you Some of them faithful, some of them fooled Some that held me, some let me drown Some wore a halo, some burned the house down I spent my whole life trying to excuse The things you did when life damaged you But grown-up eyes can finally see the truth There were so many versions of you [Bridge] Then came the wreckage, then came the blows Death at the door and nowhere to go The husband gone, your father too Your brother lost, grief split through you I still remember that car in the yard Windows shattered from how deep it got hard You beat that metal like it made sense Like rage was the only place grief could vent You always swung when you needed to break Closed your fists when your whole heart ached All that pain with nowhere to go Turned into poison we all came to know [Breakdown] And I see it different now Iโm not that little girl looking up somehow I donโt just feel sorry I donโt just defend I can love your wounds And still name what you did [Final Chorus] There were so many versions of you The fighter, the mother, the wreck and the wound The woman who taught me how to survive The woman who made me swear Iโd do better in life You gave me strength, but you gave me fear You gave me love with conditions and tears And now the cost of all you put me through Is a life your grandkids barely know in you [Outro] I used to see you like a victim of pain Now I see the choices, now I say your name You were my mother You were my lesson too There were so many versions of you
