Stephen's Father always taught him how to fight

How to curl up when they beat him so they'd never see him cry

How to stay real quiet in the closet while he was hiding from his dad

When he'd been drinking he would get a little violent

But there were things that Stephen learned along the way

That at night it meant it was harder to survive another day

He could hide from his Father he could run a little farther

But the only way to fight a memory was to pray he'd say

Anyone hear me

I'm broken but I'm breathing

Feeling kinda lonely

But I know what I believe in

Remembering my reasons to appreciate this treatment

The fights they got me bleedin' but I've been know to take a beating

God help me when I have a wife

That I'll know how to treat her right

And God help me when I am a man

To be the father that my father had never been

God help me when I have kids

That I'll teach them how I learned that I should live

Help me remember to put no one else above them

But most of all God help me show them that I love them

Back up. Stephen never had the backup

Livin' like a prisoner pressed back up against the wall

It's because on one side the will of his father

On the other he was most scared of his mother

She was lying on the bed under a cover

All the bruises she was treating from a wick they would discover

All the things there to tell herself her husband never did

Long story short 'cause she was too afraid to lose the kid

Anyone hear me

I'm broken but I'm breathing

Feeling kinda lonely

But I know what I believe in

Remembering my reasons to appreciate this treatment

The fights they got me bleedin' but I've been know to take a beating

God help me when I have a wife

That I'll know how to treat her right

And God help me when I am a man

To be the father that my father had never been

God help me when I have kids

That I'll teach them how I learned that I should live

Help me remember to put no one else above them

But most of all God help me show them that I love them

If you're alone and you're bleedin' to avoid another beatin'

I need you now to hear me what I tell you won't be easy

They tore apart your home

You need to fight now for your freedom

Call the cops and run away from them

You'll learn from my friend Stephen

And I know when you have a wife

That you'll know how to treat her right

And I know when you are a man

You'll be the father that your father had never been

And I know when you have kids

That you'll teach them how you learned that you should live

You'll remember to put no one else above them

Most of all I know that you'll know how to love them