Dear Fillip

Lyrics

Dear Filip… You probably don’t know my name. That’s okay. I’ve known yours for years. [Verse 1] Dear Filip, I was there when the whole crowd screamed, Gold lights burning like a half-remembered dream. You lifted your stick after burying the shot, And for three hours that night, I forgot what I’d lost. I know your number, I know every scar on the ice, Know the way you disappear, then strike in a flash of light. Everybody calls it hockey—just a game, just a show, But they don’t understand what it means when you’re all that I know. I bought the jersey, hung your picture by my bed, Started talking to the television when everyone had left. You don’t know me, Filip, and maybe that’s the worst part— You’re a stranger to the world, but you’re living in my heart. [Chorus] Dear Filip, can you hear me through the Nashville night? I’m screaming your name underneath the arena lights. When the scoreboard goes dark, I still see you there, A ghost in the blue seats, a voice in the air. You gave me something when I had nothing to hold, Now every loss feels like watching something die cold. So if you ever wonder why somebody won’t let go— It’s because you became the only thing they know. [Verse 2] Dear Filip, tonight you missed the empty net, And I swear I’ve never felt so much regret. I yelled at the screen like somehow you could hear, Then laughed at myself because you’re nowhere near. People tell me, “It’s just hockey, man, let it go.” But they don’t know what you’ve become to me, though. Every season starts with a promise in my head: “This is our year”—then another dream turns dead. I started counting every goal like a countdown clock, Every overtime winner, every thunderous block. I know it’s not normal, yeah, I know that it’s strange, But when you’re on the ice, everything else fades away. [Bridge — quieter] Sometimes I wonder if you’d recognize my face If I stood in the crowd in that same old place. Would you see the person behind all the cheers? Would you understand why I’ve followed you for years? Or would you walk right past me Like everybody else? [Verse 3] Dear Filip, I know you have a life beyond this rink, A family, friends, places I don’t get to think. I know you’re human underneath number nine, But sometimes I forget that you’re not actually mine. That’s the part that scares me when the arena empties, When the music fades and the seats get lonely. Because tomorrow comes, and the season moves on, But I’m still sitting here when the final light’s gone. I don’t blame you. You never promised me anything. You never said my name. You never knew I was listening. Maybe that’s why it hurts. [Final Chorus] Dear Filip, can you hear me through the Nashville night? I’m still staring at the ice underneath the fading lights. You were never mine, but you became my escape, A number on a jersey that I couldn’t replace. And when the final horn echoes through the cold, I’ll still be the fan who never learned to let go. If someday you read these words and wonder who wrote them— Just remember there was somebody Who believed every goal meant something. [Outro — spoken] Dear Filip… The arena’s empty now. Everyone went home. I stayed. Number nine is still hanging above the ice. And somehow… I still feel like you’re playing just for me.