The House That Built Us

Lyrics

[Verse 1] Back in 1985, on a summer afternoon You brought me to this piece of land beneath a sky of blue There wasn't any house out here, just woods and open space
 But when you talked about your dream, I could see it on your face You showed me where the house would stand
 And the future you could see
 Somehow on that quiet piece of land
 You were already building "we" [Pre-Chorus] Years went by, but you never let that dream fade away
 And in 1996, you started building what you'd dreamed about someday [Chorus] This is the life you built
More than timber, stone, and steel 
It's where our love grew roots so deep They changed the way the future feels Every room holds a memory
Every corner holds a dream
 And everywhere I turn around I see what your heart means These walls are full of stories
And every one is true
 This was never just a house It's the life you built for me and you [Verse 2] With your dad right there beside you
 That dream finally began
 Every wall and every doorway rose from your two hands You built the three-car garage
Then the office where we'd grow
 The business that would bless our lives more than we could know You poured the winding driveway
 Built the back porch we'd come to love
 You painted every line upon the tennis court with love And every blade of grass that's growing
 Started from the seeds you sowed
 You didn't just build a home here You built the life we know [Pre-Chorus] And on a spring day, that dream stood ready
 Waiting with an open door
Holding all the hopes We'd carried
And so much more [Chorus] This is the life you built
More than timber, stone, and steel 
It's where our love grew roots so deep They changed the way the future feels Every room holds a memory
Every corner holds a dream
 And everywhere I turn around I see what your heart means These walls are full of stories
And every one is true
 This was never just a house It's the life you built for me and you [Bridge] The deer still cross the backyard
In the golden evening light
 The hummingbirds return each spring
Like everything's still right The cardinals still greet the morning
From the branches near the trees
 And those stubborn squirrels still think they're getting one past you and me Our three beloved dogs still linger
In the memories they made 
And every grandchild knows this place 
As the home where they were raised Grandma and Grandpa's house 
The place where everyone belongs
 The place that taught our family
What love looks like lived strong [Final Chorus] This is the life you built
The proof of what love can do
 When two people chase a dream
 And see each other through It's where we learned together
 That with faith and helping hands The things that seem impossible Can become the life you've planned Now thirty years are calling
And another road awaits Closer to the family we love
And the next chapter we'll make My heart aches knowing someday soon We'll close this old front door But what we built inside these walls
Will live forevermore Because this house may stay behind us
But its love is coming too And wherever life may take us Home will always be [Outro] May 8th, 1997
We carried our dreams through that front door May 8th, 1998
I married my best friend And next year, nearly thirty years later
 We'll turn the page and start again But we'll never say goodbye
 To what happened inside these walls Because every May 8th reminds me A dream became a home A home became a marriage A marriage became a family A family became a legacy Built by your hands And held together by our hearts