[Verse 1] When the money left the room, I found out who was real Watched the whole crowd vanish Like they never learned to feel But a couple of ’em stood there When I had nothing left to give Didn’t love me for the winning Loved me just because I lived They saw me at my ugliest My lowest, my worst When I couldn’t stand my own reflection They showed up first Didn’t try to fix me Didn’t need me to be strong Just sat inside the silence And let me fall apart [Pre-Chorus] So this one’s not for the doubters Not the ones who walked away This is for the quiet few The ones who stayed [Chorus] Here’s to the ones who stayed When the lights went out And the rest were afraid (Here’s to the ones who stayed) Who held the door in the dark Who called me by my name Who loved me at my nothing Here’s to the ones who stayed Not the ones who showed for the shine The ones who showed for the storm Who gave me their time And kept me warm (Kept me warm) I’ll spend my whole life thankful For the ones who stayed Here’s to the ones who stayed (Here’s to the ones who stayed) [Verse 2] Everybody loves you When you’re standing on the top It’s the valley shows you clearly Who’ll be there when you drop And I’ll never forget the faces That were there when it was hard ’Cause a hand held in the fire Leaves a permanent mark So if you’re building something And you made it through the night Turn around and count the few Who kept a candle to the light They don’t ask to be repaid They don’t do it for the credit But a debt of love like that You spend forever tryna settle it [Pre-Chorus] So if you’re still beside somebody When the tears come pouring down You might never hear your name But you’re heaven on the ground [Chorus] Here’s to the ones who stayed When the lights went out And the rest were afraid (Here’s to the ones who stayed) Who held the door in the dark Who called me by my name Who loved me at my nothing Here’s to the ones who stayed Not the ones who showed for the shine The ones who showed for the storm Who gave me their time And kept me warm (Kept me warm) I’ll spend my whole life thankful For the ones who stayed Here’s to the ones who stayed (Here’s to the ones who stayed) [Bridge] And if you’re the one Still standing by somebody in their pain If you’re the one who won’t let go When everybody’s walked away You may never hear it You may never know your worth But you’re the closest thing to grace That ever touched this earth You’re the reason someone made it You’re the hand inside the hole You’re the light they couldn’t find When it was darkest in their soul So this is me, out loud Saying what too few ever say Thank you Thank you To the ones who stayed [Chorus] Here’s to the ones who stayed When the lights went out And the rest were afraid (Here’s to the ones who stayed) Who held the door in the dark Who called me by my name Who loved me at my nothing Here’s to the ones who stayed Not the ones who showed for the shine The ones who showed for the storm Who gave me their time And kept me warm (Kept me warm) I’ll spend my whole life thankful For the ones who stayed Here’s to the ones who stayed (Here’s to the ones who stayed) [Outro] Here’s to the ones who stayed Here’s to the ones who stayed When I had nothing, nothing You stayed
