The Words I Never Say

[Verse 1] I learned young to keep my mouth shut When the hurt came rollin’ in You don’t show the other soldiers Where the armor’s wearing thin So I carried that back home with me Along with names I can’t forget And some nights I fight old battles That ain’t finished with me yet [Verse 2] There’s a few who learned to read me When I swear that I’m alright They don’t ask too many questions They just sit with me awhile They’ve seen me staring through the walls When my mind’s a thousand miles away And I owe ‘em more than they’ll ever know For the words I never say [Chorus] I don’t know how to tell you That you helped me make it through That there’ve been nights I’d have lost the fight If I hadn’t leaned on you I’ve spent my whole life being the one Everybody thinks won’t break So thank you gets caught somewhere Between my pride and what I can’t say If I seem like I don’t need you Don’t believe me anyway There’s a whole damn world of gratitude In the words I never say [Verse 3] I was taught a man keeps standing Even bleeding underneath And needing somebody beside you Sure as hell can feel like defeat So when you put your hand upon my shoulder I might shrug and turn away But that don’t mean I didn’t need it I just don’t know how to say [Chorus] I don’t know how to tell you That you helped me make it through That there’ve been nights I’d have lost the fight If I hadn’t leaned on you I’ve spent my whole life being the one Everybody thinks won’t break So thank you gets caught somewhere Between my pride and what I can’t say If I seem like I don’t need you Don’t believe me anyway There’s a whole damn world of gratitude In the words I never say [Bridge] Maybe strength ain’t standing lonely Maybe I got that part wrong Maybe letting someone carry you Don’t mean you ain’t still strong But old habits die like soldiers— Hard, stubborn, and too late So until I learn to tell you Hear the things I cannot say [Final Chorus] I don’t know how to tell you That you gave me somewhere safe When the man inside that uniform Still shows up some days And I know I ain’t been easy Hell, I’ve pushed good folks away ‘Cause it’s easier to look unbreakable Than admit I need you to stay So if I never say I love you Or thank you quite enough Know every time you stood beside me You were holding more than you knew up And if tomorrow finds me fighting Those same ghosts another day Just know I’m still here partly ‘cause of you— That’s the truth I never say [Outro] Yeah, I’m still here partly ’cause of you… I just never learned to say.