Lyrics

(Verse 1)
Ma'am maw, I’ve been thinkin’ ‘bout those stories you would tell
How Grandpa held my daddy when the world would give him hell
he left this place too early, when Dad was barely ten
You raised a broken-hearted boy and never broke back then

(Verse 2)
I can still remember Sunday nights, the porch light burnin’ low
You’d hum a hymn and wipe your eyes, hopin’ he would show
But Daddy never talked too much, and Mama walked away
At seven, I was growin’ up in shadows every day

(Chorus)
If I ever called him Paw, I must’ve done it in a dream
‘Cause all I’ve got are faded frames and stories in between
He’s the voice inside my silence, the hand I never saw
And I’m sorry, Ma'am maw, for the way it all went wrong
If I ever called him Paw... it was an answered prayer all along

(Verse 3)
You said he had a gentle laugh and eyes that lit a room
He’d sit with Dad beneath the stars and sing a gospel tune
But life don’t give the answers, and time can't heal it all
Sometimes love can skip a man, and leave a boy to fall

(Chorus)
If I ever called him Paw, it was reaching through the pain
Tryin’ to give father’s love through thunder, loss, and rain
He was gone before I knew him, but his shadow still stands tall
And I’m sorry, Ma'am maw, for the way we lost it all
If I ever called him Paw... it was a whisper, not a call

(Bridge)
I see him in my hands when I fix what’s broke and worn
And I wonder if he’d smile at how his boy has weathered storms
You said he prayed for Daddy — maybe he prayed for me too
And maybe I’ve been loved by him in ways I never knew

(Final Chorus)
If I ever called him Paw, it was your voice in my heart
Telling me a man can break and still give boys a start
He was gone before I arrived, but somehow saw it all
And I’m proud, Ma'am maw, of the roots that made me tall
If I ever called him Paw... it’s ‘cause your love endured it all.

(Outro)
Yeah, if I had ever called him Paw...
It was only through the wall