Blessings of the Old Men

[Verse 1]
We came with our hands open
To the houses by the hill
Where the elders keep the stories
And the rooms remember still
We have learned to hold our breathing
When the names are spoken low
But we need the ones who lived it
To show us where the tears can go
[Chorus]
We need the blessings of the old men
Teach us how to grieve, how to feel pain
Teach us how to love without turning away
Give back the honor they were made to lose
We need the old men
We need their truth
[Verse 2]
Let them tell us what was taken
Let them tell us what remains
How a heart can bear its breaking
And still make room for tenderness again
We will sit beside their silence
We will listen, we will stay
There are lessons in their sorrow
That no hurried word can say
[Chorus]
We need the blessings of the old men
Teach us how to grieve, how to feel pain
Teach us how to love without turning away
Give back the honor they were made to lose
We need the old men
We need their truth
[Bridge]
Not to ask them to be fearless
Not to ask them to forget
Only let us stand beside them
And remember what they kept
[Final Chorus]
We need the blessings of the old men
Teach us how to grieve, how to feel pain
Teach us how to love, and carry love through
Give back the honor that was taken from you
We need the old men
We need their truth
[Outro]
We need their hands
We need their stories
We need their blessing
To learn how to love