He Ain't Love (Remix)

HE AIN’T LOVE, BABY [Intro – women’s voices, slow] Mmmmmm... Yeah... Baby girl... Come sit with us. You don't gotta explain him. You don't gotta defend him. We've done that too. Listen... [Verse 1] To the woman checking her phone Wondering where the hell he's been Knowing something don't add up But afraid to ask again To the woman making excuses When her friends can see the truth Saying, "Y'all don't really know him" Girl, we used to say that too We know that ache We know that doubt We know what goes on When nobody's around We know why one good night Can make you take him back Baby, we've all been fooled By a man like that [Pre-Chorus] So we ain't here to judge you We ain't telling you you're weak We're just women who found our voices After forgetting how to speak [Chorus] Baby girl, he ain't love If loving him destroys you He ain't love If every damn thing gets blamed on you He ain't love If you gotta lose yourself To keep that man intact We know you still want him We know that truth hurts bad But we've cried those tears We've packed, unpacked We've slammed that door Then turned right back Till one day we learned What we wish somebody told us: You don't gotta hate that man To know you've had enough Baby girl... HE AIN'T LOVE. [Verse 2] To the woman lying beside him Feeling lonely as hell He says, "Baby, I love you" But his actions tell it better He gives you crumbs on Sunday Then takes your peace all week And somehow when you're breaking You're the problem 'cause you speak He'll call you crazy Call you jealous Say you're always starting shit But funny how your "crazy" Keeps catching what he did Then he'll swear you're imagining The things you know you've seen And you'll start asking yourself If you're the problem... Baby, we've been there. We know what that means. [Chorus] Baby girl, he ain't love If loving him destroys you He ain't love If every damn thing gets blamed on you He ain't love If you gotta lose yourself To keep that man intact We know you still want him We know that truth hurts bad We've cried those tears We've packed, unpacked We've slammed that door Then turned right back Till one day we learned What we wish somebody told us: You don't gotta hate that man To know you've had enough Baby girl... HE AIN'T LOVE. [Break – spoken] And before somebody asks... "Why didn't she just leave?" Shut up. You don't know What she had to untangle Inside herself Just to find the door. We do. [Rap – beat drops, harder] Yeah— Let's talk about HIM. Mr. Everybody's-Fault Except his own Big man when you're crying Little boy when he's wrong Got a pocket full of excuses And a mouth full of blame Doing dirt behind your back Then dragging YOUR name Boy, stop. You ain't confused You knew exactly what you did Don't come crying "misunderstood" When somebody lifts the lid You wanted her loyal While you did what you pleased Wanted her on her damn knees While you lived consequence-free You called her crazy 'Cause she noticed the lies Called her insecure When the truth hit her eyes Had her questioning instincts You knew were dead-on Then acted shocked as hell When that woman got gone Nah. Keep them excuses We heard 'em before Keep that half-ass apology Outside the damn door You don't get a good woman And treat her like trash Then play brokenhearted When she don't come back You thought love meant She'd keep taking your shit Thought forgiveness meant She'd never finally quit But here's your lesson— And baby, listen close: Losing HER Might be the consequence YOU chose. [Beat stops] Yeah. We said it. [Bridge – emotional, women together] And to the woman Who's still there tonight... Don't be ashamed. We went back too. We believed apologies Without changed behavior too. We confused missing him With needing him. We confused history With destiny. We thought loving somebody Meant we had to keep choosing them. It doesn't. And when you're ready... Not when WE say. When YOU are ready... We'll be right here. [Final Chorus – huge] Baby girl, he ain't love If loving him destroys you He ain't love If every damn thing Comes back to blaming you You don't have to lose your heart To finally take your life back You can still be soft And never again accept that Yeah, we loved 'em hard Yeah, some of us went back Yeah, we cried and begged For what they never had But look at us now— Still loving Still standing Still whole enough to say: THEY DIDN'T TAKE OUR HEARTS AWAY So if you're sitting Where we used to sit Thinking leaving means That you somehow quit... Baby girl— Sometimes leaving ain't giving up. Sometimes... LEAVING IS HOW YOU FINALLY CHOOSE YOURSELF. [Outro – stripped down] Mmmmmm... So keep your heart. Keep that beautiful heart. Just stop handing it To somebody Who keeps proving They don't know What the hell to do with it. Mmmmmm... Baby girl... He ain't love. And one day... You're gonna know The difference.