This song really hits me at home. He talks a lot about the physical distance of living in California, when his family is elsewhere (Texas?). But he really admits, it isn't the geography that creates the distance with the family, it's him. He has chances to be near them, to visit his grandmother, to pick up the phone and he doesn't. The passage where he imagines his mom young is so beautiful too. He's recognizing that maybe they didn't get along well because life hardened her with disappointment.
This song really hits me at home. He talks a lot about the physical distance of living in California, when his family is elsewhere (Texas?). But he really admits, it isn't the geography that creates the distance with the family, it's him. He has chances to be near them, to visit his grandmother, to pick up the phone and he doesn't. The passage where he imagines his mom young is so beautiful too. He's recognizing that maybe they didn't get along well because life hardened her with disappointment.