# I SHOULD'VE BEEN THERE **(Verse 1)** I should've been there, that's the thought that never leaves, It follows me to sleep and it's waiting when I breathe, I keep thinking if I'd been there, maybe shit would've changed, Maybe I'd have seen the signs, maybe I'd have stopped the pain. Maybe I would've said something, maybe I would've stayed, Maybe one more conversation could've changed everything, Maybe I would've held you when you needed somebody near, Maybe you would've told me all the things I couldn't hear. But "maybe" don't bring people back, and "what if" ain't a time machine, Still my mind keeps building different versions of the scene, Where I show up at the right moment, where I somehow make it right, Where you don't become a memory that I have to carry every night. I know I can't rewrite it, but that doesn't stop the guilt, Grief can turn an empty space into a courtroom in your head, And I'm both the prosecution and the one who's on trial, Convicting myself for something I could never reconcile. **(Hook)** I should've been there, I should've been close, I should've seen the warning, I should've known. I keep asking questions That nobody can answer, Would you still be here If I had been there? I should've been there, That's what keeps me awake, I know I can't change it, But I still wish I could've saved you that day. **(Verse 2)** I replay every memory looking for a clue, Something I missed, something I could've done for you, Like the past is a puzzle and the pieces are somewhere, Like if I search hard enough I'll find the moment I wasn't there. I know that's grief talking, but it sounds real in my head, It makes me question every single thing that I said, Every time I was busy, every time I wasn't around, Every "I'll call you later" that I'll never get back now. And that's the shit that hurts, 'cause we thought we had time, Thought there'd be another day, another call, another night, We never think the final moment is hiding in plain sight, We don't know we're making memories while we're living our lives. If I could go back, I'd never hesitate, I'd drop everything I had just to show up at your place, I'd sit beside you for hours, wouldn't care what we discussed, 'Cause I'd rather waste a whole day with you than spend a lifetime wishing I had. **(Hook)** I should've been there, I should've been close, I should've seen the warning, I should've known. I keep asking questions That nobody can answer, Would you still be here If I had been there? I should've been there, That's what keeps me awake, I know I can't change it, But I still wish I could've saved you that day. **(Bridge)** But maybe you don't blame me, Maybe you never did, Maybe somewhere beyond this life You know I did the best I could. And maybe if you saw me Destroying myself with regret, You'd tell me, "That's not what I wanted, You gotta live instead." So I'll carry the guilt, But I won't let it bury me, I'll carry your memory And let it teach me how to be. **(Final Hook)** I should've been there, But I can't go back, Can't change the ending, Can't rewrite the past. So I'll be there for the people Who still need me today, I'll say "I love you" while I can, I won't keep those words away. I should've been there, And that pain won't disappear, But I'll turn every "what if" Into making sure I'm here. For you. For the ones I love. For every tomorrow we still have.
