[Verse 1]
There's a man sitting in his favorite chair
Reading the news but his mind's not there
His little one calls "Daddy come and play"
But he just nods and looks away
Body present but his heart's somewhere else
Lost in worries about himself
[Chorus]
When daddy's there but daddy's gone
The child keeps waiting, holding on
Physical presence, emotional void
A future's hope gets slowly destroyed
There but not there, gone but still here
The question echoes year after year
[Verse 2]
She learns that love means being ignored
That attention's something you can't afford
Builds her walls up brick by brick
Thinks that caring makes you sick
When the one who should protect and guide
Is just an empty shell inside
[Chorus]
When daddy's there but daddy's gone
The child keeps waiting, holding on
Physical presence, emotional void
A future's hope gets slowly destroyed
There but not there, gone but still here
The question echoes year after year
[Bridge]
What does it mean to be alive
When the ones you love just survive
The body's here but soul's away
Stealing tomorrow from today
The future dims when love won't grow
From the seeds we do not sow
[Verse 3]
Years go by and patterns form
Emotional distance feels like the norm
She searches for what she never had
In every face that makes her sad
The empty chair becomes her heart
Learning love means being apart
[Chorus]
When daddy's there but daddy's gone
The child keeps waiting, holding on
Physical presence, emotional void
A future's hope gets slowly destroyed
There but not there, gone but still here
The question echoes year after year
[Outro]
The question lingers in her mind
What future's lost when love's not kind
When presence isn't truly there
The future vanishes in empty air