I can't believe I couldn't even give to you
The thing that you wanted most for me
And that was a chance at a better life
Not a life within the shadow of your misery
I know you saw me up on stage
before the school year even came to an end
And you never thought that you would have
A broken heart for time to mend

You loved me as hard as a mother ever could
But I still never did what I knew I could
to make you feel happy and swell up with pride
And as I think about how I failed to give you that feeling
I die a little bit more inside
I'm sorry that I didn't graduate
With the rest of my senior class
But at the time I had always thought the pain was fate
That it would never pass

I thought that no matter what I did
the pain would never go away
So I couldn't fully appreciate
the beauty of each and every day
I'm sorry that I couldn't make you feel
the feeling a mother gets from seeing her child
spread his wings and fly
And please believe me when I say the guilt is real
Mother my heart would never lie

I can't believe I couldn't even give to you
The thing that you wanted most for me
And that was a chance at a better life
Not a life within the shadow of your misery
I know you saw me up on stage
before the school year even came to an end
And you never thought that you would have
A broken heart for time to mend

I guess mother what I am trying to say
Is that I love you so much my mother dear
And if I give in to what I believe
hold the diploma close to your heart
Don't let go, hold it near.