Hold the Child

[Verse 1]
She’s hiding in the hallway
Sleeves pulled past her hands
Salt stains on her school shoes
Breath stuck where she stands
I kneel down just to meet her
My voice comes out so small
“Who left you here so empty?”
She doesn’t speak at all
[Chorus]
So I hold the child
Like she’s all I’ve got
Feel every flinch
Every tremble
Every knot
Look in her eyes
See my own history
How can I turn away?
When that broken child is me
[Verse 2]
Her backpack ripped and crooked
Name tag half torn off
Stories she was never told
Scattered like chalk dust
I smooth the wrinkled pages
Of every year she lost
“Baby
I have been so cruel”
I finally count the cost
[Chorus]
So I hold the child
Like she’s all I’ve got
Feel every flinch
Every tremble
Every knot
Look in her eyes
See my own history
How can I turn away?
When that broken child is me
[Bridge]
I’ve called her weak
I’ve called her wrong (mmm)
Buried her deep
And tried to move on
But her shaking hands
Are begging to be free
“How could I reject you
When you’re the heart of me?”
[Chorus]
So I hold the child
Like she’s all I’ve got
Let every sorrow rise
Every “please don’t” every “stop”
Look in her eyes
And I finally agree
I will not turn away
From that broken child in me
[Outro]
Come home
Little one
Lay your hurt on my chest
We got years to forgive
We got time for the rest
I’ll learn to love your scars
Till you finally believe
I will not turn away
From the child that is me

Slow, intimate blues ballad with female vocals; smoky electric guitar and upright piano trade soft fills over a lazy shuffle groove; verse sits close and conversational, bass barely above a murmur; chorus swells with organ pad, brushed snare, and stacked gospel harmonies for a raw, cathartic lift; final verse drops to near a cappella before the band eases back in for a tender resolve, female vocals, blues