My daughters(even if they aren't mine)

#Verse 1

Seven years I changed your diapers, seven years I was your dad

Only father that you knew, best protector that you had

While she rolled bowls in the bathroom, I was cooking every meal

Teaching you the right from wrong, showing you that love is real

Texas don't care 'bout the reasons, just the weed inside her blood

CPS came with their papers, dragged us through the goddamn mud

Living paycheck to paycheck, then the motels when that dried

I was drowning, I was broken, but for you I never cried

#Chorus

Now you're tall as your big sister, saw the pictures, broke my heart

Been over a year since I heard your voice, been over a year apart

They can call you stepchildren, but you'll always be my girls

You took my sense of humor, you took my whole damn world

What kind of dirt did they spread about me?

All I ever did was love

Now the father that I used to be

Feels like a dream I'm waking up from

#Verse 2

You listened to me over mama, took my hobbies, learned my ways

Fifteen now and used to trust me with the weight of all your days

When you needed someone real to talk about the serious things

I was there, not just as father, but the comfort that truth brings

Older sister knew too much, had to grow up way too fast

But you came to me with problems, made those moments always last

I was working, I was trying, I was all you really had

While addiction took your mother, I just wanted to be your dad

System failed us, system broke us, tore apart what we had built

Seven years of bedtime stories, seven years of love and guilt

I was overwhelmed and drowning, should've gotten help back then

But I loved you through the chaos, and I'd do it all again

#Chorus

Now you're tall as your big sister, saw the pictures, broke my heart

Been over a year since I heard your voice, been over a year apart

They can call you stepchildren, but you'll always be my girls

You took my sense of humor, you took my whole damn world

What kind of dirt did they spread about me?

All I ever did was love

Now the father that I used to be

Feels like a dream I'm waking up from

#Bridge

Fifteen and eleven now, growing up without me there

Wonder if you still remember all the lessons that we shared

Older one, you trusted me with secrets, dreams, and fears

Wonder if you know I'd listen through the distance and the tears

You preferred my ear to hers because I took you seriously

Wonder if you still need someone who will hear you genuinely

Sometimes I want back in the dream so desperately

Where I'm still your dad and you're still laughing next to me

#Final Chorus

When you turn eighteen, I hope you'll try to find me

Hope you still can see yourself when you look inside me

They can call you stepchildren, but you'll always be my girls

You took my sense of humor, you took my whole damn world

I hope you carry all the lessons for the rest of your lives

I hope someday you'll understand and maybe we'll survive

Cuz the father that I used to be wasn't just a dream,you made me who I'm supposed to be