What Mattered Most (Alternative Version)

I thought I knew the boy so well

If he was sad I could not tell

I missed the point

And I missed the signs

If he's gone the fault is mine

And I know, I know a whole lot of little things

And even though I could list them one by one

Oh, he would still be gone

His eyes are blue, his hair is long

In '64 he was born in Baton Rouge

His favorite song is In My Life, I memorized his every move

I knew his books, his car, his clothes

But I paid no attention to what mattered most

I never asked, he never said

And when he cried I turned my head

He dreamed his dreams behind closed doors

That made them easy to ignore

And I know, I know I missed the forest for the trees

And all I have to show

And, oh, when he walked out the door

The cold facts and nothing more

His eyes are blue, his hair is long

In '64 he was born in Baton Rouge

His favorite song is In My Life, I memorized his every move

I knew his books, his car, his clothes

But I paid no attention to what mattered most

His eyes are blue, his hair is long

In '64 he was born in Baton Rouge

His fathers tall, his mothers gone

He moved out west when he was two

The way he laughed, the way he loved

Oh, my God, what did I do?

What did I do?

He dreamed his dreams

Behind closed doors

We never asked, he never said