[Intro – soft piano, low thunder in background] Your name on my license, but your love never signed off. So I became my own father... just younger. --- [Verse 1] I carry your name like a chain with rust Tryna polish up pain that was passed in trust Never learned how to fish, just learned how to fight 'Cause you ain't teach a thing — just left overnight Mama did both — yeah, she wore both roles While you watched life like a rerun show Birthdays came, but your calls never did So I learned real quick what abandonment is I ain’t need you to ball, just needed you real Just needed a hand when life broke the seal But you was gone, ghost in the crowd Now I raise my kids just to make you proud? Nah. --- [Hook – melodic pain, layered harmonies] I got ghosts in my veins and your voice in my head Woke dreams with your absence still left in my bed How you give me your name, then vanish from life? Now I’m writin' you songs just to make it feel right You ain’t raise me, but I still grew tall Still built from the silence, still broke that wall Now I carry the weight you dropped on me But I made a man outta what you couldn’t be --- [Verse 2] You missed first steps, missed my first fight Missed every “I need you” on them cold nights I ain’t hate you — I just felt too small Tried to play catch with a father who would never call I still wonder if you ever thought twice If the guilt ever hit you like midnight ice If you saw my face in a stranger's laugh Would it haunt you like this empty path? I’m a father now, and it hurts me deep 'Cause I love my kids in the way you sleep Never there, but you left your mark So I tattooed pain and turned it into art --- [Hook – repeat with added depth, more emotion] I got ghosts in my veins and your voice in my head Woke dreams with your absence still left in my bed How you give me your name, then vanish from life? Now I’m writin' you songs just to make it feel right You ain’t raise me, but I still grew tall Still built from the silence, still broke that wall Now I carry the weight you dropped on me But I made a man outta what you couldn’t be --- [Outro – spoken reflection over keys] Your shadow raised me more than you did. But that’s cool... I turned it into something I can live with. Rest easy, Brian Sr. I got the rest from here.

Ghosts of Brian Sr.