(Verse 1) It started like a fairytale, a storybook romance To young adults that happen to meet by mistake He was the perfect leading man, in every single glance Hid the shadows in his mind, the anxiety and doubt And built a world of picture-perfect memories all about Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Y-Indian Guides Camping trips beneath the starry skies Fishing on the lake and boat rides on the river He painted them a masterpiece, hoped the cracks wouldn't show through. (Verse 2) First sport watching his daughterpitch, softball in the s.un Cheering from the bleachers for his football-playing son Then the strings rang out so clear, a melody he knew His boy played music just like he had always wanted to And then the uniform, the oath, a path he'd understood Serving his country that he loved so much, Flag flies proudly in the yard He tried so hard to be the dad he always wished he'd be But in the mirror, saw a man who never felt like he earned it. (Chorus) Oh, what could have been, if he had only seen The hero in their eyes, not the failure in his dreams He gave them everything he had, but never enough in his own mind To quiet all the demons and to let himself be loved A broken home, a heavy price, for a happiness he chased And a list of precious moments that he never got to taste. (Verse 3) The marriage buckled under weight he never learned to share "Love and Happiness" we're just a words he chased, He never gave his son the talk, 'bout being a good man Or how to hold a steady heart, and lend a steady hand He never saw his daughter in her wedding dress of white Never got to walk her down the aisle and into the light. (Chorus) Oh, what could have been, if he had only seen The hero in their eyes, not the failure in his dreams He gave them everything he had, but never enough in his own mind To quiet all the demons and to let himself be loved A broken home, a heavy price, for a happiness he chased And a list of precious moments that he never got to taste. (Bridge) Now the kids are grown and gone, with families of their own Planting seeds from gardens that their broken father'd sown And the grandkids laugh and play, a future he can't see They'll never meet this wonderful man, this friend, this memory. And oh, he would be so proud, of who they both became If only he could see his light, still burning like a flame. (Bridge piano solo) (Outro) [ACOUSTIC guitar and orchestra strings swelling] He was a fairytale, it's true, in how it all began A father, friend, a complicated, good, and broken man. He tried so hard to measure up, to win the fight inside Leaving just the echo of... what could have been
