[Intro] There it is again Another story about how you came out on top Same drink Same grin Same victory [Verse 1] You tell us how you made the right call How you saw the signs before we did How every door you knocked on opened How you always knew which way to quit You've got a story for every victory A reason why the others fell behind But I've been sitting here for years now And I can't remember one you lost [Pre-Chorus] And maybe that's the part You never want us asking What happened to the ones You knew you couldn't win? [Chorus] You never lost, you just never played You walked away before the price was paid You call it knowing when to let things go But how would you know If you never let it hurt? You never lost, you just never played You kept your hands clean and called it fate Maybe looking like a winner is enough When nobody gets to see What you were running from [Verse 2] I've watched you choose the safer road Turn away whenever things got real You'd laugh about the ones who risked it Then disappear when failure came too near You say there's nothing brave in losing And I won't say that you're wrong Nobody wants to be the story Everybody whispers when they're gone [Pre-Chorus 2] But tell me what you call it When you never take the first step When you turn away before you know What you could have been? [Chorus 2] You never lost, you just never played You walked away before the price was paid You call it knowing when to let things go But how would you know If you never let it hurt? You never lost, you just never played You kept your hands clean and called it fate Maybe looking like a winner is enough When nobody gets to see What you were running from [Bridge] Funny thing is, I know that little voice The one that says, "Don't take the chance" Pick a road where nothing's waiting Except the proof that you were right I've called it wisdom I've called it timing I've called a hundred things by better names Anything but what it really was [Final Chorus] I never lost, I just never played I walked away before the price was paid I called it knowing when to let things go But how would I know If I never let it hurt? I never lost, I just never played Kept my hands clean and called it fate All those years I thought I knew that man Now I'm staring at him At the bottom of this glass [Outro] So here's to every road I never took Every chance I left behind I guess you can't call yourself a winner If you never gave yourself a chance to lose
