There have been a few times in my life when caring for and about someone came down to sitting at bedside and watching them breathe. During one of these times, I wondered if this is what all deep caring comes down to—it is like watching someone breathe. This song celebrates this very basic and heartfelt level of caring.

Lyrics

Watching you breathe

You came into this life
A fair bit early
You had to win a little fight
You were so tiny

And we all knew
You weren't alone
And we smiled as we watched you
Breathe on your own

Watching you breathe
Watching you breathe
We were all so relieved
Watching you breathe

It was a cough that quickly worsened
As these things sometimes will
And by the time we got you in
Your lungs had begun to fill

And you were struggling
To take in air
And when you found your strength
You answered our prayer

CHORUS

In the middle of the night
When I really should be sleeping
In the absence of all light
My mind starts to thinking
About the things we do
To get us through

Of all the places you could be
You're lying here next to me
It's almost too much to believe
Watching you breathe

CHORUS


We take it all for granted
Breathing in and breathing out
Until maybe there’s planted
A little seed of doubt

And then we hold our breath
While we watch them breathe

Watching them breathe
Watching them breathe
We all seem to need
Someone watching us breathe


© Gary Poole, 2017