Growing Up Raising You (Gabby Barrett) → Teaching You: A Teacher's Anthem

Becky Cheung came to us with a simple request: take Gabby Barrett's parenting ballad "Growing Up Raising You" and swap "raising" for "teaching." One word change, but it reframes the entire song from a parent's love letter into a teacher's anthem.

What Changed

The modification is technically minimal: "Will be growing up praising you" becomes "Will be growing up teaching you." The word "praising" shifts to "teaching," and in that shift, the entire emotional landscape of the song transforms. What was once a song about parental devotion becomes an anthem for educators.

But listen closely and you will notice another subtle change: "You'll crawl till you're on" becomes "Don't crawl till you're on." This small inversion adds a layer of instructional wisdom, suggesting guidance rather than observation. The teacher is not just watching the growth—they are actively shaping it.

Listen & Compare

Hear the original song and the custom version side by side

Original

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Custom Version

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Transcripts are auto-generated and may not perfectly reflect the audio.

Original Lyrics

6 in the morning, hands are shaking Half ready, half scared of death In me the world, wrapped in a pink blanket The world falls asleep on my chest I'm so in love even though we just met Got no clue what I should do next We'll get it wrong, we'll get it right Whole lot of tears, we both have to cry You'll learn to run, I'll learn to let go Years will go fast, nights will go slow The Lord knows the best thing that I'll ever do Will be growing up praising you I sat in the backseat, was 20 miles back home Holding my breath the whole way Through the nice graves, the heartbreaks And learning the hard way We're both gonna turn out okay We'll get it wrong, we'll get it right A whole lot of tears, we both have to cry You'll learn to run, I'll learn to let go Years will go fast, nights will go slow The Lord knows the best thing that I'll ever do Will be growing up praising you You'll crawl till you're on and you'll run till you're driving You're driving, we'll drive us both crazy Wherever you go and whatever you do Just know you'll never not be my baby We'll get it wrong, we'll get it right Whole lot of tears, we both have to cry You'll learn to run, I'll learn to let go Years will go fast, nights will go slow Lord knows the best thing that I'll ever do We'll be growing up praising you

Custom Lyrics

6 in the morning, hands are shaking Half ready, half scared of death In me the world, wrapped in a pink blanket The world falls asleep on my chest I'm so in love even though we just met Got no clue what I should do next We'll get it wrong, we'll get it right Whole lot of tears, we both have to cry You'll learn to run, I'll learn to let go Years will go fast, nights will go slow Lord knows the best thing that I'll ever do Will be growing up teaching you I sat in the backseat, was 20 miles back home Holding my breath the whole way Through the nice graves, the heartbreaks And learning the hard way We're both gonna turn out okay We'll get it wrong, we'll get it right A whole lot of tears, we both have to cry You'll learn to run, I'll learn to let go Years will go fast, nights will go slow Lord knows the best thing that I'll ever do Will be growing up teaching you Don't crawl till you're on and you're on till you're driving You're driving, we'll drive us both crazy Wherever you go and whatever you do Just know you'll never not be my baby We'll get it wrong, we'll get it right Whole lot of tears, we both have to cry You'll learn to run, I'll learn to let go Years will go fast, nights will go slow Lord knows the best thing that I'll ever do We'll be growing up teaching you

Why "Teaching" Works

The lyrics map surprisingly well onto the teacher-student relationship. "6 in the morning, hands are shaking / Half ready, half scared of death" -- that's every new teacher on their first day. "We'll get it wrong, we'll get it right" captures the iterative nature of education.

The chorus hits differently now: "Lord knows the best thing that I'll ever do / Will be growing up teaching you." And "You'll learn to run, I'll learn to let go" takes on new meaning -- teachers eventually release their students into the world, hoping they gave them enough.

The Verses Reimagined

The second verse works too: "Through the nice graves, the heartbreaks / And learning the hard way" describes the emotional labor of teaching -- watching students struggle, knowing you can't shield them from every failure. "We're both gonna turn out okay" becomes a mutual promise.

The bridge -- "Wherever you go and whatever you do / Just know you'll never not be my baby" -- shifts from biological connection to lasting impact. A good teacher's influence follows students forever, even as the relationship changes.

The Process

Becky ordered our smallest package -- up to five non-repeated word changes. The challenge was precision, not complexity: making sure "teaching" lands with the same weight as "praising" in Barrett's conversational, intimate vocal style.

The Result

Both versions are about love expressed through guidance, about finding purpose in helping someone else grow. The emotional truth stays consistent even with the word swap, which is why it works.

For teachers, this gives them something rare: an anthem that validates the depth of their commitment. When Becky plays this for colleagues or students, she's sharing why she does what she does.

Browse more projects like this in our lyric swap showcase, or start your own custom lyric swap.