Left of my hometown

Verse 1

I drove past Maple Street, didn’t recognize the view

Windows all boarded up where we once ran wild and free after school

Mr. Jenkins’ porch is quiet, no radio playin’ low

And the house on the corner’s empty… where did everybody go?

Pre-Chorus

Every crack in the sidewalk used to know my name

Now it feels like a stranger wearing my hometown’s face

Chorus

Yeah, this town ain’t what it was when I was a kid

Ghosts in the shadows of the life we lived

I swore the day I left I’d never come back around

Now I’m standing here planted in this broken ground

But somehow in the wreckage, I found my way through

New faces, new memories, a life that grew

Yeah, it’s not the same, but it’s mine somehow

I’m raising my daughter in this old hometown

Verse 2

The mill shut down years ago, took half the dreams with it

Main Street’s a memory, just empty signs and dust on it

That hospital bought up everything from church to bar

Now it’s the biggest thing around, you can see it from afar

Pre-Chorus

Funny how the place you couldn’t wait to leave behind

Becomes the only road that leads you home in time

Chorus

Yeah, this town ain’t what it was when I was a kid

Ghosts in the echoes of the life we lived

I swore the day I left I’d never come back around

Now I’m building something new from the hand-me-downs

Got a good job, steady hands, something I can prove

And a circle of friends that feels like truth

Yeah, it’s not the same, but it’s mine right now

I’m raising my daughter in this worn-down town

Bridge

I used to hate these streets, every crack, every line

Now I see a second chance in the passing of time

‘Cause love showed up where I thought none remained

And somehow the broken pieces don’t feel the same

Breakdown

They say you can’t go home again… maybe that’s true

But you can build a new one with a different view

Final Chorus

Yeah, this town ain’t what it was when I was a kid

But there’s beauty in the damage, in what still lives

I never thought I’d be the one to turn around

Now I’m putting down roots in this battered ground

Through the loss and the change, something good came through

A brand new life where the old one grew

Yeah, it’s not the same, but I’m proud somehow

Raising my daughter in my old hometown

Outro

Yeah, it’s not the same… but it’s home right now

And that’s enough in this old hometown