The hallway light kept burning long after I was gone You waited in the quiet while the nights kept moving on I told myself the work I did was worth the time we lost But every empty evening shows me now what it all cost I thought the world would crumble If I ever slowed my pace If I had stayed You would have known you were the center Of every dream I chased in circles While you held our world alone If I had stayed Maybe the years would feel much softer Maybe the house would still remember All the love we should have grown Your coffee getting colder while I answered every call You held the days together, I was barely there at all And now I see the photographs where I'm a fading ghost A man who loved you deeply but was never really close I thought I'd fix it later But later’s gone for good If I had stayed You would have known you were the center Of every dream I chased in circles While you held our world alone If I had stayed Maybe the years would feel much softer Maybe the house would still remember All the love we should have grown I wish I'd learned that presence Means more than any plan The world keeps turning anyway Without the things we think we need to stand If I had stayed I'd hold your face a little longer I'd let the quiet say the truth I never found the time to show If I had stayed Maybe you'd know what always mattered And I’d be standing here beside you Not a memory letting go
