Lyrics
At her first bright breath, they placed you near
A button-eyed bear, small and dear
Wrapped in pink with a stitched-up smile
She held you close and slept a while
Her tiny hand found your patched-up beard
And that was the start of all her years
You learned her name in a cradle sway
And kept her secrets night and day
Stay with me, stay through the years, stay
But nightmare, don't fade away
Stay with me, stay through the years, stay
You knew my heart before I could say
She'd whisper dreams with her lantern low
About field day, ribbons, and snow that would glow
Her worries fell in your cloth-soft chest
Her brave little hopes found a place to rest
In high school halls with her books held tight
She told you who hurt her, who felt right
The kiss she wanted, the grade she feared
The dreams she chased, the tears she cleared
Stay with me, stay
Through the years, stay
But nightmare, don't fade away
Stay with me, stay through the years, stay
You knew my heart before I could say
College nights with the dorm light dim
She'd lean on you when the world felt grim
First joy, first ache, first breaking rain
held the shape of her joy and pain
Then came a ring and a grown-up vow
A wedding dress, a kitchen now
Less time together, a farther shelf
But she still came to talk to herself
Years went by like pages turning
Children laughing, summer burning
Then the house grew quiet at the seams
And she came back with her oldest dreams
Old and soft in a borrowed chair
She held your paws and brushed your fur
At her bedside, weak and near
She smiled at you through every tear
Stay with me, stay
Through the years, stay
But nightmare, don't fade away
Stay with me, stay
Through the years, stay
You knew my heart before I could say
family stood in a circle of light
They held their hands and wept all night
No one saw by the dim bedside glow
The tears in your eyes, they'll never know
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