from Just 'Cause, released February 7, 2013
you never wanted children
but you’ve got two boys to raise
their father’s on a hunt and left them here with you
‘cause there’s people he can save
so you play a little baseball and you tuck them into bed
and all the while you’re wondering what their lives could be instead
and now the boys have grown up
and you know what you have to do
‘cause their daddy may be dead
but they were always your boys, too

and this is what it means to have a family
this is what it means to have a home
this is what it means to be so angry
when they don’t know the worth of their own souls
and God knows it’s hard
to get up and go
when it feels like you’re drowning in a flood
but they’re your boys
so they have to know
they’re family
and family don’t end with blood

the end of days is coming
and hope is almost gone
when the crossfire up and gets you
so why even go on
and you wake up every morning thinking, “what am I here for?”
‘til he says, “you’re still a soldier
though you’ve been wounded in the war”
and you think about your father
and the words he said that night
but your boys grew up heroes
so you must have done something right

and this is what it means to have a family
this is what it means to care too much
this is what it means to tell a memory
that you don’t always break the things you touch
and God knows it’s hard
to get up again and go
when it feels like you’re buried in the mud
but they’re your boys
so they have to know
being blood don’t make you family
and family don’t end with blood

so when the reaper comes for you, you run away instead
your boys still need your help when there’s a hole inside your head
but now the time is right and you’re saying your goodbyes
these idjits are your family and it’s for them that you’ll die

‘cause this is what it means to be a family
this is what it means to pay a price
this is letting off the weight you’ve carried
you’ll never once regret this sacrifice
and God knows it’s hard
to finally let go
when in your heart you know that you should
‘cause they’re your boys
and now they finally know
they’re family
and family don’t end with blood
family don’t end with blood
family don’t end with blood