This Is Where I Am

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About this song

A prodigal's road out and back again. The chorus he sings so confidently at eighteen, 'I know exactly who I am,' comes home at the end as 'I know exactly whose I am.'

Lyrics

[Intro]
Let me tell you where I've been
before I tell you where I am

[Verse 1]
I was eighteen and I knew it all
Packed the car before the sun was up
Dad just shook my hand there in the drive
he never tried to talk me out of love
He said the world's the only teacher
that a stubborn kid will ever hear
Folded some bills into my palm
and let me drive off from here

[Chorus 1 - Confident]
I know exactly who I am
I don't need a single hand
I'm building this on my own plan
I know exactly who I am

[Verse 2]
First semester turned to something looser
found a version of myself I liked the taste of
Every class I skipped became a secret
every stranger felt like proof enough
Mama called and I just let it ring
told myself I'd phone her back tomorrow
Pride kept a real careful count of silence
one more week, one more week, one more week away

[Chorus 2 - Defiant]
I know exactly who I am
I don't need a single hand
I'm building this on my own plan
I know exactly who I am

[Verse 3]
I slept where the streetlight couldn't reach me
counted up my friends and landed on none
Every number in my phone had blocked me
or belonged to somebody I'd already become
I caught my own face in a window downtown
didn't know the man staring back
Told myself the same old story
even as the story fell apart

[Chorus 3 - Broken]
I know exactly who I am
I don't need a single hand
I'm building this on my own plan
I know exactly who I am

[Bridge]
I practiced it for eighty miles
what I'd say, how low I'd learn to bow
I'd start with sorry, earn my way back in
I never got the chance to finish
He was already running down the drive

[Verse 4]
Now I'm older, sitting at this table
telling you the only truth I've got
The boy who drove off feeling so complete
had no idea how empty full could be
These are the same words I said the day I left
I say them now and they don't mean what they used to
not because the words ever changed
but because I finally did

[Final Chorus - Quiet and Sure]
I know exactly whose I am
I need just a single hand
I'm building this on His perfect plan
I know exactly whose I am

[Outro]
Now you know where I've been
This is where I am

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