Verse 1 I know every ceiling looks different in the dark, Every bedroom has a sound you learn by heart. I stopped putting pictures up against the wall, It’s easier to leave when there’s nothing there at all. New halls, new faces, memorize their names, Smile like I’m fine, learn another place. Everybody says that I’ll get used to change, Nobody ever asks what all that changing takes. Pre-Chorus So I keep a little part of me packed, Even when they tell me I’m home. Maybe if I’m ready for goodbye, It won’t hurt when somebody goes. Chorus What would it take To make somebody stay? Do I need to be prettier? Do I need to change? A little less me, A little more what they want? Tell me what I’m missing, Tell me what I’ve done. ’Cause everybody leaves, And everybody says It isn’t because of me… Then why does it always Feel that way? Verse 2 I hear him through the walls when he thinks I’m asleep, Giving someone else the words I wish he’d give me. She’s beautiful, she’s everything, he says it so easily, Then I stand a little longer where the mirror can see me. Maybe that’s stupid. Maybe that’s jealousy. I don’t want what she has— I just want him to notice me. She gets the version of him That laughs a little more. I get the tired “maybe later” And the closing of a door. And I know I’m his daughter, I know it’s not the same. But when you’re always second, You start wondering who to blame. I don’t need roses. Don’t need Friday nights. I just need my father To ask if I’m alright. Pre-Chorus But I learned pretty gets attention, So I learned every flaw on my face. Now strangers on a screen decide How much of myself I erase. Chorus What would it take To make somebody stay? Do I need to be prettier? Do I need to change? A little less me, A little more what they want? Tell me what I’m missing, Tell me what I’ve done. ’Cause everybody leaves, And everybody says It isn’t because of me… Then why does it always Feel that way? Verse 3 My mother held the pieces when the leaving had begun, Smiled through every hard day so I wouldn’t see her come undone. We didn’t always get along; we both said things that hurt, I thought we’d have forever to find better words. I thought there’d always be more time To make those moments right. Now I’d give almost anything To have one stupid fight. Just to hear her down the hallway, Just to know that she was near. Funny how the things that drove you crazy Are the things you wish you’d hear. I know she loved me Even when we couldn’t find the words. But knowing someone loved you Doesn’t make the leaving hurt less. Pre-Chorus Everybody tells me she loved me, Like love could make her stay. They say she didn’t mean to leave me, But she’s still gone today. I keep replaying every moment, Searching for a sign I missed. How can someone love you deeply And still disappear like this? Bridge Different houses. Different bedrooms. Different schools. Different friends. Every time I start belonging, Everything moves again. So I learned not to get comfortable. Learned not to need too much. Learned that people say “forever” When they really mean “for now.” And everybody tells me: “It wasn’t you.” I want to believe them. I’m trying to. Final Chorus What would it take To make somebody stay? Do I need to be prettier? Do I need to change? A little less me, A little more what they want? Tell me what I’m missing, Tell me what I’ve done. ’Cause everybody leaves, And everybody says It isn’t because of me… Then why does it always Feel that way?
