Verse 1] It don't come out of your mouth And I can't seem to draw it out You've been broken, your heart's been forsaken By a love that left you cold and aching It ain't no secret, ain't no surprise You still got the sadness in your eyes Somebody taught your heart to lie And taught your tears to stay inside [Verse 2] Hey, you're honest, I'll give you that You wanted more than where we're at You never made a promise You couldn't see yourself keeping But I told you that I loved you And your lips began to quiver You looked at me with those sad sad eyes And I watched you fight back a river And words you couldn't bring yourself to say So I kissed your cheek and turned cause I ain’t built that way [Chorus] The sweetest sound I never heard Was you saying those three words I'd have traded every song I've sung For three soft words upon your lips and on your tongue I could feel you reaching for me But you never let me in And I can't keep standing at a closed door You're too afraid to kick wide open 'Cause an unreturned"I love you" Is the saddest thing …I ever heard unspoken! [Verse 3] I knew somebody hurt you bad Took everything you thought you had Left you with a heart afraid of breaking And a smile you got so good at faking I'd hold you close when the thunder rolled You'd cling to me but never let go all the way And somewhere between your heart and mine Those three words got lost in our time [Bridge] One night I packed a bag Set it by the back bedroom door You were standing in the hallway Your mind a thousand miles away Like a thousand nights before I said, "sweetheart , I can't do this I can't love enough for two of us”! You reached your hand out toward me But I never saw you move to me And when I said, "I love you" I watched your lips begin to shake But I couldn't stand another silence Or another heartache [Final Chorus – Full emotion, crying fiddle] The sweetest sound I never heard Was you saying those three words I would have stayed forevermore If you'd given me one reason not to shut that door But I thought your silence meant you didn't Feel the way that I still do So I walked away believing You would never loved me half as much as I love you ! And an unanswered "I love you" Was the saddest thing I ever heard [Final Verse – Female voice enters boldly and upset , build up for strong finale] I watched his taillights disappear Through the window, through my tears I fell down on that hardwood floor And whispered toward the closing door "I loved you when you held me I loved you every night I loved you every morning I just couldn't say it right The last time I said forever Forever turned to never down deep inside And every time I tried to tell you That old hurt came back alive" [Final Outro – Male and female voices, separated] [Male voice:] The sweetest sound I never heard... [Female voice:] Was the truth I couldn't say... [Male voice:] An unanswered "I love you"... [Female voice, whispering:] When I loved you every day! [Silence – One final steel guitar note]
