Somebody Had To Stay [Intro] (Soft piano. Close-mic breathing. Faint room ambience.) (Whisper) I left the porch light on… Just in case… ⸻ [Verse 1] Your coffee kept getting colder every morning, Your keys stayed hanging by the door. You quit dancing in the kitchen, Like we used to before. Your side of the bed stayed made for weeks, Mine never really did. I should’ve seen you leaving… Long before you did. I kept telling myself, “It’s just a phase…” Never knowing… Somebody had to stay. ⸻ [Pre-Chorus] I was fixing every crack While you were packing every dream. Funny how forever Can come apart so quietly. ⸻ [Chorus] (Big drums. Full band. Stacked harmonies.) Somebody had to stay… Somebody had to hold on. You were halfway out the door… I was still calling it home. Somebody had to believe… We were worth saving. Guess it was always… Me. (Gang Vocals) Stay… Stay… Why was it always me? ⸻ [Verse 2] The pictures haven’t moved an inch, But everything else has changed. Even this old house Don’t sound the same. Everybody says, “Time heals everything…” But time just teaches broken hearts How to hide the pain. You stopped saying “we” Before goodbye. I was still praying We’d be alright. ⸻ [Pre-Chorus] If love was only measured By the miles I’d walk for you… I’d still be standing Right where you left me. ⸻ [Chorus] Somebody had to stay… Somebody had to hold on. You were halfway out the door… I was still calling it home. Somebody had to believe… We were worth saving. Guess it was always… Me. (Choir Response) Stay… Stay… Why was it always me? ⸻ [Bridge] (Everything drops to piano and voice.) If loving you Meant losing me… I’d probably… Do it twice. (Long pause.) Because the hardest part Was never watching you leave… It was realizing… You’d already gone. ⸻ [Final Chorus] (Key change. Gospel choir. Strings. Huge drums.) Somebody had to stay… Somebody had to fight. Love you through the darkest days… Till I ran out of light. Somebody had to hope… When hope was almost gone. Somebody had to carry us… When I couldn’t carry on. If forever needed One last believer… One last open door… Somebody had to stay… Somebody had to love Enough… To let you go. ⸻ [Outro] (Piano only. Whisper.) If they ever ask… Who loved the longest… Tell ’em… Somebody stayed. (Soft whispered choir: “Stay… Stay…”)
