For Those Who Come After Us

Verse 1

I was just a child on a small boat, too young to know the cost.
Others carried what I couldn't when almost all was lost.
I didn't know what they had given or what they'd give for me.
I only knew they kept me moving toward a life I couldn't see.

Pre-Chorus

It took me years to understand how far they carried us.
Now I walk my part of the road for those who come after us.

Chorus

For those who come after us, we walk the road today.
Someone walked this road before us. We'll leave a path along the way.
You don't have to walk it like us. You don't have to end where we've been.
Take the best of what we give you. Then make the road your own again.

Verse 2

I found my way through changing roads, through victories and loss.
Some dreams were worth the journey. Some taught me what they cost.
Then came a wife, three children, and a place that we called home.
And somewhere on that road I learned we never walk it all alone.

Pre-Chorus

I used to ask where roads would lead.
Now I ask what road I'll leave.

Chorus

For those who come after us, we walk the road today.
Someone walked this road before us. We'll leave a path along the way.
You don't have to walk it like us. You don't have to end where we've been.
Take the best of what we give you. Then make the road your own again.

Bridge

Someday you'll see what I couldn't.
Someday you'll choose differently.
I hope you do.
Keep what is worth keeping. Change what needs to change.
I don't need you to live my life.
I only hope I helped you start.

Final Chorus

For those who come after us, this road was never ours alone.
Someone walked this way before us. Someday you'll carry it on.
Take the love. Take the lessons. See the things we could not see.
Make the road a little better. Then go farther than me.

Outro

And when your children ask someday where the road beneath them came from,
tell them someone walked before you.
Then go a little farther than me.

Verse 1 — Parent

I can’t tell you where to turn
I can only show you what it cost me to learn
Some nights I lost, some bridges burned
Some people gave me more than I earned

I wrote it down, not to keep you close
But so my voice could find you
When you need it most

Pre-Chorus — Parent

You don’t owe the past your future
You don’t have to be my echo
Just remember where the love came from
Then go where I could never go

Chorus — Together

Take the best, leave the rest
Keep your roots, choose your steps
Every scar, every door
Is a map and nothing more

When my voice is just a memory
And the dark is yours to cross
Turn around, leave a little light
For the ones who come after us

Post-Chorus

After us, after us
Leave it better after us

Verse 2 — Younger Voice

You gave me roots, I found a road
I took your stories places you may never know
I kept the truth, I changed the frame
Growing up doesn’t mean we stay the same

I hear your voice, but now I choose
The life ahead is mine to build
And mine to lose

Pre-Chorus — Younger Voice

I don’t owe the past my future
I don’t have to be your echo
But I remember where the love came from
As I go where you could never go

Chorus — Together

Take the best, leave the rest
Keep your roots, choose your steps
Every scar, every door
Is a map and nothing more

When your voice becomes a memory
And the dark is mine to cross
I’ll turn around, leave a little light
For the ones who come after us

Bridge

Maybe wisdom isn’t what we keep
Maybe it’s what we pass
Maybe love is giving someone wings
Without deciding where they land

Connect the dots I couldn’t see
Question what no longer holds
Take the story, make it yours
Then give it somewhere new to go

Final Chorus

Take the best, leave the rest
Keep your roots, choose your steps
Every failure, every door
Was a lesson—nothing more

When our names become a memory
May the love outlive the loss
Turn around, leave a little light
For the ones who come after us

Outro

Take the best
Make it yours
Leave it better
After us