[Verse 1] He lines up cereal bowls Two spoons Just in case Tiny socks on the counter He keeps your seat at your place Draws suns on the fridge door With your favorite blue Every crayon in his fist Still reaches out for you [Verse 2] Cartoons hum in the background He talks like you’re right there “Look I didn’t spill this time” Shows an empty chair He wears your old keychain On a shoelace round his neck It taps his heart when he runs Like you saying “Don’t forget” [Pre-Chorus] They say “She’s in a better place” He stares at their mouths Confused ‘Cause your better place Was this cluttered room And a boy in worn-out shoes [Chorus] Mama They say you had to go But they don’t see me by the door Counting footsteps on the floor (To get you home, to get you home) Mama They say you’re in the sky So I keep asking it “But why?” I’m too small to say goodbye So I just whisper “I’ll leave the light on” [Verse 3] He hides under your sweater Breathing in the laundry soap Tracing stains on the sleeves Every mark a little hope He keeps asking his father “Did I make you cry too?” ‘Cause every time the man breaks He thinks it’s something he did or didn’t do [Pre-Chorus] They bring him coloring books Tell him “Draw how you feel” He fills the page up With empty hands A house that’s missing windowsills [Chorus] Mama They say you had to go But they don’t see me by the door Counting footsteps on the floor (To get you home, to get you home) Mama They say you’re in the sky So I keep asking it “But why?” I’m too small to say goodbye So I just whisper “I’ll leave the light on” [Bridge] [Soft Almost spoken] He keeps your phone on the table Battery long since died Still presses the black screen Waiting for it to light He saved your last “goodnight” Replays it every day Mouths your words with trembling lips Like he can learn your voice that way [Build] First snow on the window Your coat still on the stand He draws a heart in the frost Same size as his hand At school Kids make Mother’s Day cards Glue and glitter in their hair He folds his paper into a plane Lets it vanish in the air (fly to you, fly to you) [Chorus] Mama They say you had to go But they don’t see me by the door Counting footsteps on the floor (To get you home, to get you home) Mama They say you’re in the sky So I keep asking it “But why?” I’m too small to say goodbye So I just whisper “I’ll leave the light on” [Verse 4] He’s taller in the mirror But still sleeps on your side Keeps the corner of your pillow Tucked under his eyes He learned how to tie his laces From a video in your name Watches it on repeat Says “Look Mama I’m the same” [Pre-Chorus] They say “Time will heal this hurt” He stares at the ticking hands If time can fix What it never met Why can’t it bring you back again? [Chorus] Mama They say you had to go But they don’t see me by the door Counting footsteps on the floor (To get you home, to get you home) Mama They say you’re in the sky So I keep asking it “But why?” I’m too small to say goodbye So I just whisper “I’ll leave the light on” [Final Chorus] Mama Can you hear me now? (hear me now) I’m still that boy in hand-me-downs Talking to an empty

Bare piano ballad building into swelling strings; male vocals start fragile, close-mic’d, then open into soaring, cracked belting on choruses. Sub-bass bloom on downbeats, distant choir pads in later sections for ache. Verses intimate and narrative, bridge drops to near-whisper before final chorus explodes with layered harmonies and held notes, then ends on a single lonely piano chord.

Blue Car Seat