Last night just back from New Orleans
Pulled that old picture from my jeans
The one where he’s holding me up high
He left us the day I turned thirteen
Tired of working toward another man’s dream
But I remember one thing that he said

You gotta snatch the reins away, son
And grip em’ till you bleed
Life is a race we stumble into
And it’s a promise no one can keep

My mother said he was a restless man
She said someday I might understand
But I’ve learned forgiveness is not my style
All the questions that I had to ask
All the answers that slipped by too fast
I’ve had to guess, then guess again…

You gotta snatch the reins away, son
And grip 'em till you bleed
Life is a race we stumble into
And it's a promise no one can keep

Could you tell who I was, if we passed by on the street?
Maybe I’m that boy you wouldn’t want to see
Maybe our eyes meet knowingly…

I got a call just seven days ago
A voice asked- “Is this a man you know?”
I caught the next bus to Bourbon Street
In his room I found an envelope,
My old address, a picture with a note
That’s when I read those words again

You gotta snatch the reins away, son
And grip em’ till you bleed
Life is a race we stumble into
And it's a promise no one can keep