The Years I Owe You

[Verse 1]
I still keep your crayon note
Crooked heart
My name in blue
It's folded in my wallet
Every road still leads to you
I missed braces
Birthdays
Stories
All the small
Important things
I was lost and I was stubborn
You got left with all the sting
[Chorus]
I can't give back all the days I missed
But I can give you every day from this one on
If you ever want to hear my side
I'll sit quiet till you talk
Then I'll hold on
You don't owe me one more minute
I know I'm the one who broke it first
But my girl
If you let me
I will spend my life
Paying back the years I owe you
[Verse 2]
Maybe all you see is damage
A slammed door
A leaving car
But there was fear inside that silence
And a man who fell apart
I won't ask you to excuse it
You can call it what it was
I just hope you know
In all that mess
You were never what I left
[Chorus]
I can't give back all the days I missed
But I can give you every day from this one on
If you ever want to hear my side
I'll sit quiet till you talk
Then I'll hold on
You don't owe me one more minute
I know I'm the one who broke it first
But my girl
If you let me
I will spend my life
Paying back the years I owe you
[Bridge]
If you call me in the midnight
Or in ten years
Gray in your hair
I'll still answer on the first ring
Just to say
"I'm here
I'm here" (yeah)
You can scream
Or you can whisper
You can meet me
You can stay
I will love you from a distance
Till you let me close someday
[Chorus]
I can't give back all the days I missed
But I can give you every day from this one on
If you ever want to hear my side
I'll sit quiet till you talk
Then I'll hold on
You don't owe me one more minute
I know I'm the one who broke it first
But my girl
If you let me
I will spend my life
Every breath I have
Paying back the years I owe you

folk, Warm acoustic ballad with male vocals, fingerpicked guitar and soft upright bass; verses stay close and confessional, almost spoken, then chorus blooms with gentle piano chords, light strings, and stacked harmonies. Subtle brushes on snare lift the second chorus; bridge strips back to near a cappella before a final, tender chorus swell.