If I Sing

My father's pride
Was in his hands
The piano was his soul.

I watched and wondered
As he played show tunes
Miles off from rock and roll.

What he loved he taught me
Now music's what I do
And often when I'm writing
In my hands, Dad's there too.

If I sing you are the music
If I fly you're why I'm put
If my hands can find some magic
You're the one who said they could.

If the child that's still inside me
Finds a song in empty air
When there is joy in making music
It is you who put it there.

My dad grew old
His hands were numb
And now he cannot play.

I came to visit
He sat and asked me
"How can it be this way?"

I couldn't find an answer
I played this tune for him instead
My father sat there smiling
For he knew what it said.

If I sing you are the music
If I love you taught me how
Every day your heart is beating
In the man that I am now.

If my ears are tuned to wander
If when I reach the chords are there
When there is joy in making music
It's a joy that we both share.

I never told you
It took time till I could see
That if I sing you are the music
And you'll always sing in me.

Yes you'll always live in me.