Thomas Salzman

[Verse 1]
Some men fill a room with noise and pride
Some men keep the thunder deep inside
You never waste a single word
But every one's the wisest I have heard
With a sneaky grin and a twinkle in your eye
You've had me fooled for years, and I don't mind

[Chorus]
Thomas, you're the strength I lean upon
The steady fire that keeps on burning on
A soft heart in a fighter's frame
Faith in your hands, courage in your name
Through every year, I'd choose you still
I always have, I always will

[Verse 2]
Born with one eye dark and a back that bent
Thirteen, six months in a cast you spent
They wouldn't let you march off to the war
So you found another fight worth fighting for
A firefighter's coat, a guard's long shift
You turned your hardest road into a gift

[Chorus]
Thomas, you're the strength I lean upon
The steady fire that keeps on burning on
A soft heart in a fighter's frame
Faith in your hands, courage in your name
Through every year, I'd choose you still
I always have, I always will

[Bridge]
You caught a brand new baby's first cry
Carried another home at their goodbye
You photographed a dragon made of flame
Taller than the barn it overcame

[Verse 3]
Fifteen years ago, on my drive to class
I griped about a second coat of tar
You said two layers make a road last twenty
Straight-faced while I cussed Missouri near and far
Then came that belly laugh, the Three Stooges kind
Tom, you got me hook, line and sinker, every time

[Chorus]
Thomas, you're the strength I lean upon
The steady fire that keeps on burning on
Six children learned what a good man is
From a soft heart and the hands that give
Through every year, I'd choose you still
I always have, I always will

[Outro]
You'll keep on helping others to the end
My hero, my husband, my best friend