[Intro – lonely acoustic] [Verse 1 – restrained, conversational, sparse guitar] What if I kissed you before saying good night? What if I apologized when I knew you were right? What if I payed attention whenever you talked? What if I came back after taking that walk? What if I noticed you sleeping alone, Two feet away while I stared at my phone? [Pre-Chorus – bass enters, melody starts to climb] Back then I thought you’d always be mine. Now I know better. You were giving me signs. [Chorus – drums enter, wide vocal, backing harmonies] What if I didn’t mess things up? (What if? What if?) What if I gave more than barely enough? (What if? What if?) Would your coffee cup still be next to mine? Would your name still show on my phone sometimes? What if I told you how beautiful you are? (What if? What if?) What if I opened the door to our car? (What if? What if?) I can picture the life that we might’ve lived— (I can see it…) And I hate how much starts with, “What if?” (What if? What if?) [Verse 2 – drums pull back, rhythmic acoustic, intimate vocal] What if I helped when the dishes got stacked? What if “I’m sorry” didn’t come with a “but” attached? What if I asked how your bad day went, Instead unloading my own problems? What if I’d noticed you stopped saying “goodnight”? What if I realized you were quiet during all our fights? [Pre-Chorus – stronger build, toms underneath] There wasn’t one night when it all went bad. Just a hundred little chances I can’t get back. [Chorus – full band, stronger vocal, layered responses] What if I didn’t mess things up? (What if? What if?) What if I gave more than barely enough? (What if? What if?) Would your coffee cup still be next to mine? Would your name still show on my phone sometimes? What if I told you how beautiful you are? (What if? What if?) What if I opened the door to our car? (What if? What if?) I can picture the life that we might’ve lived— (I can see it…) And I hate how much starts with, “What if?” (What if? What if?) [Instrumental Turn – dirty electric guitar answers the vocal melody, drums building] [Bridge – half-time, raw vocal, instruments gradually stacking] Maybe we’d have that house we almost bought, That dog you wanted, I said we probably should not. Maybe Friday nights would still be takeout at home, You stealing my fries while we stared at our phones. [Bridge Lift – drums disappear, vocal exposed] Nothing exciting. Nothing anybody else would miss. [Full-band hit] Funny… Now that sounds pretty darn good from where I sit. [Breakdown – acoustic only, close vocal] What if I’d known the boring parts were the good stuff? [Final Chorus – biggest section, full band, stacked harmonies] What if I didn’t mess things up? (What if? What if?) What if I showed you that you were enough? (What if? What if?) Would your shoes still be kicked by the bedroom door? Would I still be holding your hand in the grocery store? Would we still disagree on where we should eat? Drive around hungry till we picked something cheap? (Just like we always did…) I used to think there had to be more than this— Now I’d give everything I own for everything I miss. [Final Refrain – music drops to piano and acoustic, distant harmonies] The bills, the dishes… (What if?) Your side of the bed… (What if?) All those little things I barely noticed then. [Outro – single guitar, imperfect vocal, no drums] I had it made just didn’t know it… What if? [End – instruments ring out]
