Like a shadow I could almost hold

I'd watch you talk but never say the words I needed

Every day I learned to laugh with broken eyes

To lock the hurt and wear disguise

You taught me strength

But not the grace to cry and still feel safe

At the table I'd stay small

A stranger in my own home's walls

Did you ever really see the scared kid I used to be

Dad I just wanted love

Not the silence not the shove

Not to earn what should be mine

A little warmth a little time

I was aching just to feel

Something gentle something real

Never needed you to be tough

I just wanted love

Photos on the shelf don't speak

Of the nights I couldn't sleep

Of the dreams I locked away

Just to make it through the day

You said grow up be a man

But never reach to hold my hand

You never knew the pain I'd hide

Still wishing you'd be on my side

Did I just want to love

Not to feel I'm not enough

Not to wonder what I did to be the silent distant kid

I was reaching I was small

You didn't notice me at all

Wasn't asking for too much

Dad I just wanted love

And maybe you were broken too

Doing what you thought was true

But I can't keep this wound inside

I need to say it I need to

Cry that I just wanna love

Not this cold kinda time

I just needed you to see

What your silence did to me

Still that child beneath the man

Trying hard to understand

Why the only thing I dreamed of

Damn was just your love

Yeah all I ever dreamed of was just your love