If I Could Lyrics

If I could,
I'd protect you from the sadness in your eyes,
Give you courage in a world of compromise.
Yes, I would.
If I could,
I would teach you all the things I never learned.
And I'd help you cross the bridges that I burned.
Yes, I would.
If I could,
I would try to shield your innocence from time,
But the part of life I gave you isn't mine.
I watched you grow
So I could let you go.

If I could,
I would help you make it through the hungry years,
But I know that I can never cry your tears.
But I would
If I could.
If I live
In a time and place
Where you don't want to be,
You don't have to walk along this road with me.
My yesterday
Won't have to be your way.

If I knew,
I'd have tried to change the world I brought you to,
Through there wasn't very much that I could do.
But I still would
If I could.
If, if I could,
I would try to shield your innocence from time,
But the part of life I gave you isn't mine.
I watched you grow
So I could let you go.

If I could,
I would help you make it through the hungry years,
But I know that I can never cry your tears.
But I would
If I could.

Yes, I would.
Yes, I would
If I could.