[Intro] I know the look you give the hurting Like a chair pulled from the rain I know the part of you that whispers You could carry all their pain [Verse 1] You learn their birthdays, learn their tells The careful jokes, the private hells You keep a place for every ache And give away more than you can make You say, “Come in, I’ll make you room” Then sleep beside an empty spoon Their sorrow settles in your chest You call the weight a kindness test [Pre-Chorus] But love is not a locked front door You do not owe your heart to every storm [Chorus] You can wish them well and still walk home You can leave a light without becoming the road A tender heart is not a house for every flame You are allowed to care and keep your name Care, but don’t disappear Care, but stay right here [Verse 2] You take the call beneath the stairs While your own good news waits upstairs You learn to read each changing face And lose the sound of your own pace Some need a hand, some need a shore Some need a help you can’t provide alone You are not cruel for closing night You cannot heal by bleeding out your light [Pre-Chorus] The hands that hold can also rest A boundary doesn’t cancel tenderness [Chorus] You can wish them well and still walk home You can leave a light without becoming the road A tender heart is not a house for every flame You are allowed to care and keep your name Care, but don’t disappear Care, but stay right here [Bridge] I’m sorry for the times I made a promise Just to prove that I was good I mistook my own exhaustion For the only thing I could Now I’ll meet you in the morning With a heart that isn’t spent I can love you without handing you The whole of what I am [Group Chants] Care is not surrender! Kindness has a door! [Final Chorus] You can wish them well and still walk home You can leave a light without becoming the road A tender heart is not a house for every flame You are allowed to care and keep your name Care, but don’t disappear Care, but stay right here [Outro] I can see you I can hear I can love you And stay here
