[Intro | G Major | 156 BPM | rapid acoustic guitar, upright bass] They told me You have to love yourself Before anybody else can... That's convenient. [Verse 1 | rapid acoustic guitar, upright bass] I guess I should've fixed myself first Filed the paperwork Removed the hurt Learned to smile at my reflection Passed some kind of self worth inspection Then maybe someone could love me Until then, keep the door shut Apparently love has standards And mine weren't high enough [Pre-Chorus | mandolin enters] But that's not how people work [Chorus | full band, shouted gang harmonies] You don't have to love yourself Before somebody loves you You don't have to wake up And finally like what you see You can be falling apart You can be scared to death You can hate the person in the mirror And somebody can still say "Come sit with me" [Verse 2 | driving acoustic guitar, upright bass] I've known people who couldn't stand themselves Who apologized for taking up space Who thought every kindness came with a price Who couldn't believe anyone would stay And somehow they were loved anyway Not because they earned it Not because they fixed themselves They were loved because they were there Because they were human Because somebody cared [Pre-Chorus | mandolin, upright bass] You don't make a drowning person Prove they're worth saving Before you reach for their hand [Chorus | bigger full band] You don't have to love yourself Before somebody loves you You don't have to heal Before somebody sits beside you You can be a mess You can be afraid You can have bad days You can't explain And somebody can still want you around And mean it [Verse 3 | fuzzy electric guitar enters] Self love sounds beautiful When you're finally there But from the bottom It can sound like homework Another mountain Another thing you're failing at And if you already think you're worthless Being told to love yourself Can feel like being told You're worthless at that too [Bridge | stripped acoustic guitar, upright bass] They told you to love yourself Like that was easy Like you could just decide You were worth loving But some days The best you can do Is believe the person Who hasn't given up on you That's not failure That's how some people survive [Bridge Build | mandolin tremolo, brushed snare building, fuzzy electric guitar swelling] You don't have to believe it yet You just have to let someone believe it for you [Final Chorus | full band, emotional gang vocals] You don't have to love yourself Before somebody loves you You don't have to become Some perfect version of yourself You can learn it slowly You can use someone's faith Until you find enough To keep for yourself And if all you can say is "I don't hate myself today" That's still somewhere to start [Outro | acoustic guitar only] I hope you learn to love yourself. I really do. Hell, I hope I learn to love myself too. But until then I'll love you anyway. [Final chord] That's what people are for.
