Howard

[Verse 1]
Summer air hung heavy on the street
Everybody rushing, restless feet
Then the bus doors opened, August ten
And you stepped down, the tallest of the men
Pressed shirt, dress pants, a list held in your hand
I stood back where no one else would stand

[Chorus]
Howard, I saw you when nobody did
All the tired behind the smile you hid
While they pushed and crowded for the list
I saw the weight that everyone had missed
And a voice inside me whispered true
Let me be the one who cares for you

[Verse 2]
Twenty years of highways, Boston to New York
Montreal to Maine, you made the long miles work
Every face a stranger, every day the same
Smiling for a hundred who never asked your name

[Chorus]
Howard, I saw you when nobody did
All the tired behind the smile you hid
While they pushed and crowded for the list
I saw the weight that everyone had missed
And a voice inside me whispered true
Let me be the one who cares for you

[Bridge]
A boy from Taiwan, only twelve years old
Crossed an ocean into Canada's cold
You learned to carry everyone
Now let me carry you

[Verse 3]
I remember standing far away
Not pushing, not shoving, while the others swayed
I saw the numb, the weary, how you held it in
Something in me knew that's where we would begin
So rest now, let the engine softly hum
You've guided all of us, now your turn has come

[Chorus]
Howard, I see you like nobody did
All the tired behind the smile you hid
While the whole world rushes for the list
I hold the weight that everyone has missed
And this voice inside me still rings true
I'll always be the one who cares for you

[Outro]
Standing tall above them all that day
Oh, I'm here, and I'm here to stay