Lyrics

[Verse 1 — Warm Smoky Tenor]
Back when we first found each other
Love didn’t know how to sit still
We had passion with bad manners
Two young hearts with iron wills
You would swing when pain got louder
I’d catch your hands before regret
Not to hold you down, baby
Just to stop what we’d never forget
I was jealous over shadows
Mad at things that wasn’t there
You were tired of explaining
I was too proud to hear you clear
We called it love, but love was learning
How to survive our younger ways
Funny how two broken people
Can bruise the thing they’re trying to save
[Pre-Chorus — Intimate Rise]
We didn’t know better then
But we know better now
Some lessons come with tears
Some growth comes through the ground
[Chorus — Passionate Chest Voice]
No pain, no gain
That’s what the years taught me
Every scar had something hidden
Every storm brought wisdom on me
No pain, no gain
Now I understand the cost
I’m thankful for the road I walked
Every mile, every loss
I was wild, I was reckless
But love helped change my name
Now I’m thankful, so thankful
For the pain that made me gain
[Verse 2 — Conversational, Raspy Edge]
My boys used to call me trouble
Said I’d never settle down
I had fire in my temper
Had my pride wearing a crown
I wanted love to obey me
Wanted trust without the work
Didn’t know a man ain’t grown
Till he can face who he done hurt
You had your ways too, baby
Sharp tongue, quick eyes
You could turn a little misunderstanding
Into thunder in July
But somewhere through that madness
We found truth beneath the fight
Learned love ain’t just staying
It’s learning how to stay right
[Pre-Chorus — Bluesy Bend]
I ain’t ashamed of our beginning
I just honor where we’ve been
If the past made me wiser
I won’t curse what carried me in
[Chorus — Stacked Harmonies]
No pain, no gain
That’s what the years taught me
Every scar had something hidden
Every storm brought wisdom on me
No pain, no gain
Now I understand the cost
I’m thankful for the road I walked
Every mile, every loss
I was wild, I was reckless
But love helped change my name
Now I’m thankful, so thankful
For the pain that made me gain
[Bridge — Gospel-Rooted Plea]
Now when I look back, I don’t laugh
I bow my head and breathe
Because the man standing here tonight
Ain’t who I used to be
I learned not to raise my voice
Just because my heart feels weak
Learned a woman needs protection
Even from the words I speak
And you learned love ain’t warfare
Ain’t proving who can bleed
It’s two souls getting honest
About what peace requires to breathe
We had to lose some foolishness
Had to bury childish pride
Had to walk through every lesson
Till grace met us on the other side
[Final Chorus — Emotional Lift]
No pain, no gain
I finally see it clearly
Every hard day had a purpose
Every tear was trying to steer me
No pain, no gain
I don’t hate the road behind
It gave me strength, it gave me patience
It gave me a better mind
I was wild, I was careless
Now I stand here changed
And I’m thankful, so thankful
For the pain that made me gain
[Outro — Soft Falsetto and Ad-Libs]
Mmm… I’m thankful
For every mile I came through
For every time love corrected me
For every truth I had to choose
Your boy used to be wild
But look at me now
Standing in my lessons
With both feet on solid ground
No pain
No gain
I’m thankful for the road
And every mile that changed my name