Better Version of Me

Yeah...

One day you'll understand this different.

Everything I ever tried to build—

I was buildin' it for you.

I became a dad before I knew myself,

Still fightin' old wars, puttin' dreams on a shelf,

Tryna look strong when I'm barely holdin' up,

Smilin' in your face when the road got rough.

You never asked me to have it figured out,

Never cared 'bout money or the things we're without,

You just wanted Dad there, sittin' next to you,

Funny how the simplest thing's the hardest thing to do.

I've worked long days with my mind somewhere else,

Carried everybody while I'm fightin' with myself,

Made promises I meant, still came up short,

Had days you needed patience—I ain't have enough.

I'm sorry for the times that my stress got loud,

For the moments I was there but my mind checked out,

You deserved the best of me every single day,

But even at my worst, I was tryin' to find a way.

Can't rewrite yesterday,

Can't erase mistakes,

But every time the morning comes,

I get up again...

For you...

I keep tryin' for you,

When I'm tired, when I'm bruised,

When I don't know what to do.

For you...

I keep fightin' through,

If you learn one thing from me—

Be better than me.

Better than me...

I hope you get my heart but you don't get my fear,

Get my stubbornness to fight, not the weight I carried here,

Learn to say "I love you" while they're in the room,

Don't wait until you're hurtin' just to finally tell the truth.

Don't measure being a man by how much pain you hide,

Strength ain't always saying everything's alright,

Sometimes strength is "I need help," sometimes strength is tears,

Sometimes it's admitting you've been wrong for years.

Treat people with kindness, don't become their floor,

Know what you believe and what you're standing for,

When you love somebody, make damn sure they know,

When life knocks you backwards, plant your feet and go.

You'll make mistakes too, I know that day will come,

You'll say the wrong thing, disappoint someone,

Don't let one bad chapter tell you who you're gonna be,

You ain't chained to your mistakes—

And you ain't chained to me.

Take the good from me.

Leave the bad behind.

You don't owe me perfection,

Just give yourself some time.

Love harder.

Speak softer.

Stand taller.

Dream farther.

And when you see where I went wrong,

Don't repeat it just because I'm Dad.

Learn from it.

That's enough.

I'm still here, still learnin' how to be your dad,

Still makin' something better out of everything I've had,

Can't promise I'll be perfect or I'll never lose my way,

But I promise I'll keep choosing you again every day.

One day you'll be grown and this house'll feel strange,

Your voice'll sound different, your whole world'll change,

But no matter where you go or everything you achieve,

There ain't a version of my life where you ain't part of me.

Take every sacrifice and every scar you see and become a better version of me