The Other Side...

i was a child once,
the fear of the world in my eye
far from the safety of the other side
i colored by numbers,
learned how to tie my own shoes
like all of the others,
i just prayed i’d make it through

oh mother, look how your boy turned out,
300 miles from that small town
you never stopped believing

oh daddy, it hurt to watch you walking out,
but understand it made me stronger now
and so satisfied, so full of pride,
thank you from here to the other side

i’ll always remember,
the kids and how mean they’d been
eleven years old and i could not fit in
but i made it through high school,
and college according to plan
where pressure was never greater to become a man
would I become a man?

mother, look how your boy turned out,
300 miles from that small town
and dad it hurt to watch you walking out,
hear the piano do the crying now
for all the preachers and the teachers now,
for all the ones who never let me down
i’m so satisfied, so full of pride,
standing here on the other side,
thank you from here to the other side

here on the other side,
i’m taking my time
there’s nothing to fear,
there’s nothing to worry about on the other side
i remember when I thought I’d never find
the other side.

[brendan james]