[Intro – piano, sparse acoustic guitar] I kept your letters in an old brown case, under photographs I never throw away. Funny how a room can keep a trace of someone who has long since gone away. I was always good at leaving, never learned the art of staying. And every word I should have spoken I kept saving for another day. [Verse 1] You knew the cracks behind my smile, you saw the boy behind the man. You'd sit beside me for a while when no one else could understand. I made a joke when things got serious, changed the subject, changed the night. You were waiting for an answer, I was always looking for a fight. [Chorus] And it's too late to say I needed you, too late to say you were the truth. Too late to tell you all the things I was too proud to tell in youth. I thought there'd always be tomorrow, another door, another train. Now I'd give every road I've travelled just to hear you say my name again. [Verse 2] I saw your picture yesterday, you were standing by the sea. There was sunlight on your shoulders, and a stranger next to you, not me. I hope he knows the way you listen, how you laugh before you cry. I hope he doesn't waste the moments thinking love will never die. [Pre-Chorus] 'Cause time don't knock before it enters, it just rearranges rooms. Takes the flowers from the window and leaves the perfume. [Chorus] And it's too late to say I needed you, too late to say you were the truth. Too late to tell you all the things I was too proud to tell in youth. I thought there'd always be tomorrow, another door, another train. Now I'd give every road I've travelled just to hear you say my name again. [Bridge – piano rises, strings enter softly] Maybe love is not forever, maybe nothing really stays. Maybe all we're ever given is a handful of ordinary days. And I wasted mine pretending I was stronger on my own. Funny how the man who loved his freedom ended up alone. [Final Chorus – fuller band, emotional but restrained] So if somehow you ever hear this, don't mistake it for a plea. I don't want to change your story, I just want you to know me. You were more than just a memory, more than someone passing through. And if I never said it clearly— I was better when I was with you. [Outro – piano only] I kept your letters in an old brown case… Funny how a room can keep a trace.
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