My Apologies

Bleed Red lyrics, sung by Ronnie Dunn
Songwriters: Andrew Dorff and Tommy James

Let's say we're sorry 'fore it's too late
Give forgiveness a chance
Turn the anger into water
Let it slip through our hands

As I sit here, I picture the anger I carry around with me slipping through my fingers like the rain falling from the sky. My back straightens. My burdens feel lighter. I hadn’t realized how heavy anger is stored inside of me. When naming it, I find anger spreading into all areas of my life. I’m angry about my mother’s cancer. I’m angry about the stress my dad experiences. I’m angry about how little control I have over these huge shadows stretching across our lives. I’m angry about the way my problems affect Jeff and Ben negatively. I’m angry about the way I pass through a day without enjoying it, only running for some end that is nowhere in sight. Mostly, I’m angry with myself.

I want to dip my fingers into the water of forgiveness. I want to surround myself with peace. I want to move ahead without the weight of these burdens. I want to take joy in the pink watercolors of light moving across the morning sky.

We all bleed red, we all taste rain
All fall down, lose our way
We all say words we regret
We all cry tears, we all bleed red

Perhaps I’m lost. I strayed from the path at some point, wandering in circles to find my way back. I recall words I’ve said that I regret – or words left unsaid. I’ve lost touch with friends, drifted away from loved ones, built walls around myself. Their faces float through my mind. I can’t remember when I turned away but my heart aches for them.

If we're fighting, we're both losing
We're just wasting our time
Because my scars, they are your scars
And your world is mine

We’re all connected. No person is an island – when one suffers, we all suffer. Where can I reach outside of myself and help heal someone in need? Who will be filled by my smile or lifted by the two hands that I cradle beneath their feet?

You and I, we all bleed red, we all taste rain
All fall down, lose our way
We all say words we regret
We all cry tears, we all bleed red

Sometimes we're strong, sometimes we're weak
Sometimes we're hurt and it cuts deep
We live this life breath to breath
We're all the same, we all bleed red

Nobody lives with a guarantee that they will have another minute, another hour, another day to say things they have been waiting to say or to do things they have put aside doing. We can’t reach backwards. We can’t undo what has been done. We have only this breath.

To my friends and family, I’m sorry. To those I’ve seen but hesitated to reach out my hand, I’m sorry. When I’ve been preoccupied with my own problems, weighed down by the burdens I carry, when I’ve turned away from people and circumstances placed in front of me, I’m sorry.

Let's say we're sorry 'fore it's too late

We all bleed red, all taste rain
All fall down, lose our way
We all say words we regret
We all cry tears, all bleed red

Sometimes we're strong, sometimes we're weak
Sometimes we're hurt, it cuts deep
We live this life breath to breath
We're all the same, we all bleed red