What Mattered Most (Alternative Version)

I thought I knew the boy so well
If he was sad, I couldn't 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 can list them one by one
Oh, he would still be gone

His eyes are blue, his hair was 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 ask, 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, you know when he walked out the door
The cold facts and nothing more

His eyes are blue, his hair was 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 was long
In '64 he was born in Baton Rouge
His father's tall, his mother's 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
I never ask, he never said