Where My Father Sat

[Verse 1]
There I sat, the same old place
My father spent his quiet space
The chair was new, the pictures changed
But the silence felt the same
I was younger, still figuring out
He was gone, but not without
Leavin' traces in the air
Like his ghost still lived in there
[Chorus]
I wasn’t tryin’ to be the man he was
Just wanted to feel what he left in the dust
No need to outrun, no race to begin
Just sittin’ where he sat, takin’ it in
There’s a weight in a moment, a truth in the past
And I was holdin’ both in my hands at last
Not to outdo or outmatch
Just to sit…
Where my father sat
[Verse 2]
The rent was paid, but it wasn’t mine
Just a borrowed space, a borrowed time
I didn’t know where the road would go
But I knew I couldn’t stay too long below
Still it meant more than I understood
To breathe that air and know I could
Feel him there without a word
Like the chair itself had heard
[Chorus – Build it stronger]
I wasn’t tryin’ to live up to a name
Just tracing the shape of where I came
No torch to steal, no fire to fan
Just learning how to be a man
There’s wisdom in stillness, in not swingin’ back
In sittin’ through storms that never cracked
And if I ever learn what he had…
It started
Where my father sat
[Bridge – Soft and raw]
I don’t wear his boots, but I walk with grace
I don’t speak like him, but I feel that place
And I know when I’m still and the world goes black
That I’m not too far
From where he was at
[Final Chorus – Let it land, humble and honest]
I wasn’t tryin’ to fill his shoes
Just learn the ground he walked me through
No need to shine where he cast light
Just be enough to make it right
And maybe one day, if I raise a son,
He’ll sit here too when I’m gone and done
Not to be me — just to grasp
What it meant…
Where his father sat.

Raspy male vocal, fingerpicked guitar, reflective and rooted