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

How 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
You'll remember our voices when you're 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