It Never Happened At All

I was ten years old, so promising

It felt like the world was hanging from a string

The brush fires in the yard, the bullets in my hand

Cigarettes in the barn, fistfights in the sand

So the memories fade when you're braced for a fall

Like they never happened at all

I was the good one, I was always torn

They said my brother was bad from the day he was born

And our mother was sad 'cause she was alone

Still hung up on our dad, but he was long gone

So you learn so young how to put up a wall

Like it never happened at all

Still, we had our good days laughing at the herd

You say, "Ma, I'll be a good man, someday I'll buy you the world"

But it's just a lie that you say and the source of your pride

Like holding lions at bay with just these sticks at your side

And we'll meet some day and we'll have ourselves a ball

Like it never happened at all

Every family hides their eyes from the truth

And those family ties keep you chained to your roots

You find out where you stand and just what you believe

"But I hope you'll stay", she said, "when you think you have to leave"

I hope you'll stay when you think you have to leave

'Cause she said, "Son, you're going to be a good man

You'll take care of your own, you'll give them all you can

'Cause these are all your own choices and your fences to mend

And you'll remember our voices when your close to the end

You're going to get out of here, you're gonna learn to stand tall

Like it never happened at all

Like it never happened at all

You're gonna learn to rise where I had to fall"