Piece By Piece

When you take a minute to look at the lyrics and meaning of the song, you can easily sense that it's about Kelly's father and references to him divorcing her mother when she was young. She herself has stated that it was traumatizing for her as a child, and it stuck with her as she grew up.

The first verse addresses this pretty simply, and with the lyrics: "I traveled fifteen hundred miles to see you/ Begged you to want me/ But you didn't want to", suggests that when she was older, she went to go visit him and try to reconnect with him, wanting him in her life, but he wanted nothing to do with her.

The first chorus tells us that by finding love in her husband, her faith in men is being restored, that she's found someone who is the polar opposite of what her father was. Her father might've only contacted them when he needed money, and never for anything else...no love, no affection, nothing. Her husband is the man she wanted her father to be like, and never had.

The second first flashes to supposedly a while after Kelly won Idol, when she became a household name and started bringing in money. Her father suddenly comes back, saying he sorry for leaving her and that he wants to be back in her life, but as Kelly sings, "all of your words fall flat". She isn't falling for it, "But/ your love, it isn't free/ It has to be earned/ Back then, I didn't have anything you needed/ So I was worthless". She can plainly see that he'll only give her the time of day if it will benefit him. When she was younger, he couldn't have cared less, but now that she's a celebrity and has money, he's suddenly 'all so important to him'.

The second chorus is almost exactly the same as the first, except with the last couple of lines of "Piece by piece, he restored my faith/ That a man can be kind and a father could stay", which reinforces the fact that she sees her husband as the man that could be a great father, and she believes it can be a real possibility in her life now.

The last chorus brings it around full circle:

"Piece by piece, I fell far from the tree I would never leave her like you left me And she will never have to wonder her worth Because unlike you, I'm gonna put her first

And no, he'll never walk away He'll never break her heart He'll take care of things He'll love her

Piece by piece, he restored my faith That a man can be kind and a father should be great"

She says that she will never be like her father, that she'll never leave her daughter the way her own father did. Her husband will be the father she always wanted to their own child, and her faith is restored that there are still good men left in the world that can be a great father to their children, since she had such a horrible experience with hers growing up. It closes up the song nicely, with an ending that makes you feel good for her, seeing how she knows better now, and won't let anyone take advantage of her and her hard work.

Personally this is one of my favorite songs from her new album, with the feeling the song gives and the story she shares. I can see this staying a favorite of mine for a long while. :)

The best songs she writes are the ones where she has a reckoning with her former father.

And yes, I say former father, because a man who abandons his children isn't worthy of the title father. (oh, and if I put it a bit awkward; I'm Dutch, English isn't my native tongue).

It's about her parent's divorce and how she is praising her husband for doing all the things her father didn't do.

It's about her parent's divorce and how she is praising her husband for doing all the things her father didn't do.

It's about her parents divorcing and her talking about all the things her husband does that her dad never did. It's so sad that her dad doesn't want anything to did with her. I would be heartbroken if my dad left me forever.

Awesome song.. I was in tears listening to Kelly sing it!!!!

Kelley, is a "REAL" person. There's nothing fake about her, and even though her past was tough with her Dad abandoning her, it made her what she is today ! I love her, and God gave her the gift of the wonderful Artist she is today !

First, I relate and understand the emotion behind this song as my father abandoned my siblings and I when I was about 4 years old. He was like a ghost to us our whole childhood. When we became adults and joined the military, all of the sudden he wanted to play "dad" and brag about his military kids. I especially struggled with trusting men in general my whole life, beginning with my father. I felt Kelly's notion of this song is finally meeting a strong, secure man who is there for her daughter and for her. Her husband filled the void her own father left, and her anger comes from the father now wanting something to do with her.
For me this is the line that I find the most emotional: "I made something of myself and now you wanna come back. But your love it isn't free, it has to be earned..Back then I didn't have anything you needed, so I was worthless.."