One to the Gut

Endless hours on countless walks
Had our share of elementary talks
Said you knew the pain, understood it's cause
But as a child all you knew was how to mock

Smiles in the day, face of a soldier
little girl on the inside, hoping soon it'd be over

That girl, she'd sit alone in the dark
You didn't know her at all, but now she's ready to talk

And she says

What you did to me, it hurt more than the bruises from playin in the schoolyard
What you said behind my back hurt more than any cut from fallin and man, I fell hard
Tried to be so strong
But I was barely holding on to the strings of my schoolbag
I knew inside one day I'd find
A way to keep another child from feelin that low
You never knew what it was like, no you couldn't have
Maybe you'll see now how a few strong words
Could go a long, long way...

Learning math at 3:00 and understanding chemo at 4
It was a whole other world beyond the front door
12 years old, going on 22
The names, the games, oh if my momma only knew

They wonder why I grew up so fast

But how could innocence ever last?
What you did to me, it hurt more than the bruises from playin in the schoolyard
What you said behind my back hurt more than any cut from fallin and man, I fell hard
Tried to be so strong
But I was barely holding on to the strings of my schoolbag
I knew inside one day I'd find
A way to keep another child from feelin that low
It takes it's toll, it hurts the soul
You never knew what it was like, no you couldn't have
Maybe you'll see now how a few strong words

Could go a long, long way...
World can be so cold, so cold
A head full of fear at 12 years old
Yeah I grew up much faster than you

But oh, if my momma only knew