I Don’t Have to Take You With Me [Verse 1] I used to pack your memory Every time I left the door, Carry every word you said Like a suitcase through a war. Every road became your road, Every song became your name, I changed the town, I changed the view, But somehow you remained. [Pre-Chorus] Then somewhere on an empty highway, With the sunset burning low, I finally learned the hardest thing A heart can learn to know— [Chorus] I don’t have to take you with me Everywhere I go, I don’t have to keep your shadow Just because I loved you so. I can leave you in the yesterday Where beautiful things belong, I don’t have to hate the memory To admit that we were wrong. I can love what we once had And still set myself free— I don’t have to take you with me. [Verse 2] There’s a coffee cup you gave me Still sleeping on the shelf, For years I thought that throwing it Was throwing out myself. But love is not a prison Built from everything we knew, And letting go of yesterday Doesn’t mean I’m losing you. [Pre-Chorus] Some people leave our houses But keep living in our minds, Till one day we understand We can leave the door behind. [Chorus] I don’t have to take you with me Everywhere I go, I don’t have to keep your shadow Just because I loved you so. I can leave you in the yesterday Where beautiful things belong, I don’t have to hate the memory To admit that we were wrong. I can love what we once had And still set myself free— I don’t have to take you with me. [Bridge] Maybe letting go Isn’t dropping someone’s hand, Maybe it’s forgiving What we couldn’t understand. Maybe moving on Doesn’t mean the love was small— It only means one chapter Was never meant to be them all. [Final Chorus] I don’t have to take you with me Into every coming year, I don’t have to feed your memory With another night of tears. You can stay inside the story, You just can’t write what comes next, I’ll keep the pages that were beautiful And leave behind the rest. There’s a road outside my window, And it’s finally calling me— I loved you... I may always love you... But I don’t have to take you with me. [Outro] No anger. No goodbye. Just one less shadow Walking by my side.
