[Intro]
Banjo/guitar motif (signature pick) — two bars, soft clap, a single sustaining synth pad under the final lick
[Verse 1]
Porch light on the stoop, flannel hangin' by the door,
Used to hawk that corner, pockets full of numbers, nights of more.
Scale in my coat, palms cold, I learned to count in stolen time,
White bags and whiskey shadows, paid those debts with other crimes.
Then the courthouse lights, the cell block nights, the clock that never grinned,
Bottles were my compass till I felt the world cave in.
Now there's syrup on the counter, Saturday cartoons alive,
Kiley's thirteen-year-old attitude, Riley's smile steals hearts, it drives.
Cole's grin reminds me of myself back when I was reckless, raw,
Those little faces changed the story, taught this outlaw how to thaw.
[Pre-Chorus]
Oh — I folded up that old life and put it on a shelf,
Said my name at a meetin', felt the weight step off myself.
Every "Daddy" stitches something money never buys,
I trade a felon's footprint for bedtime lullabies.
[Chorus]
I trade my nights for their sunrise — that's the song I sing,
Riley's laugh, Kiley's fire, Cole's grin — they give me everything.
I trade my nights for their sunrise — light that never lies,
I trade my nights for their sunrise, I chose their sunrise.
[Hook - 4-word chant, repeatable]
You gave me sunrise
You gave me sunrise
[Verse 2]
No more bottle-blurred mornings, no more deals behind the lights,
Court days turned to playground days, prison stamps to lullabies.
Therapy rooms and long appointments, sensory nights and quiet wins,
Riley and Cole with brave small steps — the world can be loud but love begins.
We learn the rhythms of headphones, weighted blankets, gentle routines,
Homework fights, pancake mornings, tiny trophies, hopeful themes.
I wouldn't change a single thing about their wild and perfect ways,
Their honesty is holy — we count those little, messy days.
[Pre-Chorus 2]
Oh — every meeting, every promise, every sober, shaky vow,
Stitches a new map on my chest, I keep my head, I keep it now.
Those small hands hold the compass that points me to what's true,
I trade the streets for storytime; I trade the night to raise them through.
[Verse 3 — To Sarah]
Sarah, you stood through my worst nights, tied a rope to my drifting heart,
You held the porch light steady, pulled every broken piece apart.
You heard my stories through the quiet, wiped the spit and wiped the tears,
You said we'd build a home from rubble, tie our names and face our fears.
So here in front of our small ones, with our families close and proud,
I vow to keep this home together, said in a whisper, said out loud:
"I promise to keep choosing morning, promise to stand where love allows."
We swear it at the kitchen table, we'll swear it at the pews somehow.
[Bridge — Rap (go hard, tight internal rhymes, Boston tag)]
Scale to the corner, palms cold, moved silent like a ghost on the stoop,
Counted nights in paper stacks, split the world with a crooked loop.
Sold dream
