[Intro] [Clean Guitar] [Verse 1] Every birthday candle Felt like proof you weren’t there I filled in the silence Like a kid too young to care Little hands on visitation weekends Trying to memorize your face Then the years got longer And your voice became a place [Pre-Chorus] I was too young to understand How broken people break their plans [Chorus] So I grew up angry Swinging at shadows in my head Learning how to stand Without a helping hand And every time my daughter laughs I finally understand I learned to be a father From the one I never had- [Verse 2] Funny how the older I get The less the world stays black and white Turns out pain looks different From the other side of time Maybe life got heavy Maybe pride just pulled you down Maybe broken men don’t always know How to turn themselves around But I spent years turning your silence Into something cruel and cold When the truth was probably somewhere Neither one of us was told [Pre-Chorus] And I still hear that younger voice Demanding answers through the noise [Chorus] So I grew up angry Swinging at shadows in my head Learning how to stand Without a helping hand And every time my daughter laughs I finally understand I learned to be a father From the one I never had- [Bridge] [Crescendo] Maybe I held onto anger Cause I didn’t know what else remained Maybe hating you Was easier than wondering Why you disappeared Now every time she smiles at me I feel the weight you couldn’t bear And somewhere through the years I finally understood [Solo] [Final Chorus] [Layered Harmonies] I’m not that angry teenager Punching holes into the wall I’m just a father Trying not to lose myself at all And maybe we were both just boys Trying hard to understand How to build a family With shaking, empty hands And every time my daughter laughs I finally understand I learned to be a father From the one I never had- [Outro] [Diminuendo] Some wounds don’t vanish They just stop feeling like chains- [End Song]
