Eliana’s Empty Chair

[Verse 1]  
There’s a little wooden chair that never got worn down,  
Sits quiet in the corner like a ghost inside this house.  
I dust it every Sunday though it’s never held her weight,  
A reminder of the moments that I showed up far too late.  

Her name still feels like honey mixed with heartbreak on my tongue,  
A melody I never learned, a song I never sung.  
I trace it with my fingertip like somehow she might hear,  
Every time I whisper “Eliana,” God, I wish she was near.  

[Chorus]  
Eliana’s empty chair…  
A place I should’ve been, a life I should’ve shared.  
I missed the chance to hold her hand,  
To brush her baby hair.  
Now all I’ve got is silence  
Where her laughter should’ve filled the air…  
Eliana’s empty chair.  

[Verse 2]  
I picture how she might’ve looked with sunlight in her eyes, 
Would she have had her mama’s smile or my stubborn kind of pride?  
Would she have run to me for comfort when the world felt cold and mean,  
Or would she turn away because of all the places I had been?  

I’ve held a lot of guilt inside these hands that shake at night, because I wasn’t there
Hands that should’ve held my daughter, kept her safe, and held her tight.  
But addiction that took me to prison stole the moments that a father can’t replace,  
And I’m left staring at a chair where I should’ve seen her face.  

[Chorus]  
Eliana’s empty chair…  
A place I should’ve been, a life I should’ve shared.  
I missed the chance to hold her hand,  
To brush her baby hair.  
Now all I’ve got is silence  
Where her laughter should’ve filled the air…  
Eliana’s empty chair.  

[Bridge]  
But I talk to her sometimes  
When the night gets soft and still,  
Tell her all the things I’d give  
Just to know her, just to feel  
Her tiny heartbeat on my chest,  
Her fingers wrapped in mine…  
And I pray that God delivers  
What I couldn’t give in time.  

[Final Chorus]  
Eliana’s empty chair…  
But I believe she knows I love her, even from nowhere.  
I can’t rewrite the story,  
Can’t reclaim the lost years there,  
But I’ll carry her forever  
In the space that life left bare…  
Eliana’s empty chair.  

[Outro]  
Yeah, some chairs stay empty…  
But the love don’t disappear.

Country, Super Dark blues, empty feeling, personal