--- ### **“Leaving Is Hard”** **[Verse 1]** There’s a suitcase under my bed Half full of things I’ll never miss A worn-out hoodie, twenty bucks And a note I’ll probably never give The house is quiet in a violent way Like thunder waiting to break Every hallway holds its breath at night Every floorboard knows my weight --- **[Pre-Chorus]** Screen door swinging in the summer wind Dog barking at the empty drive Everybody sleeps like nothing’s wrong While I rehearse another life --- **[Chorus]** Running is easy It’s the leaving that’s hard Hands on the window of a moving car Streetlights flicker like they know my name But never ask where I’ve been Running is easy It’s the leaving that scars Watching your whole life shrink in the rearview dark Freedom sounds pretty from where you are But leaving— Leaving is hard --- **[Verse 2]** There’s a crack above the kitchen sink Shaped like a state I’ve never seen I used to trace it with my fingertips And wonder what escape could mean The neighbors wave like everything’s fine The mailbox still says we’re a home But some places rot from the inside out And look untouched in photos --- **[Pre-Chorus]** I know which stair step makes that sound Which door to close without a slam How to vanish before sunrise Without explaining who I am --- **[Chorus]** Running is easy It’s the leaving that’s hard Breaking your orbit is the brutal part City lights calling like a siren hymn But they don’t know where I’ve been Running is easy It’s the leaving that scars Trading a cage for unfamiliar stars Freedom sounds pretty from where you are But leaving— Leaving is hard --- **[Bridge]** And if the phone rings, let it ring If they ask where I went, say anything Say I dissolved into the interstate Say I became a stranger state And if I come back years from now Don’t ask me why, don’t ask me how Some ghosts survive by disappearing --- **[Final Chorus]** Running is easy It’s the leaving that’s hard First breath of morning in a stranger’s yard Sun coming up on a life unnamed And I don’t know who I’ll be Running was easy But leaving took everything from me.
