[INTRO — FEMALE, barely whispered; detuned banjo, low drone] I saw the ending in the beginning. That's the part I hate admitting. I didn't mistake the signs. I just thought knowing would make a difference. [VERSE 1 — FEMALE, intimate, measured] You showed me rooms you'd kept in darkness, I knew the shape of every wall. I heard the things beneath your laughter, The fear that made you stand so tall. And God, I liked the way you needed Someone who could understand. I called it something close to loving, When you reached out and found my hand. [PRE-CHORUS — FEMALE, fiddle enters] I wasn't blind to what was missing, I wasn't fooled by what you said. I knew the difference between closeness And the stories in my head. [CHORUS — FEMALE, aching, sub-bass deepens] I knew better than I did, Saw the truth and let it live. Made a home inside a feeling That was never mine to give. You could feel me when you needed Something beautiful to believe. But understanding all your darkness Didn't mean you could see me. [VERSE 2 — FEMALE, close-mic, almost spoken] The night I finally came apart, I let you see beneath my skin. You knew the tears were coming, But you had somewhere else to be. And I respected where you belonged, I never asked you to divide. But something changed inside the silence When you left me there to cry. [PRE-CHORUS 2 — FEMALE, restrained bitterness] You came back like nothing happened, Till I told you what you'd missed. You said you knew that I was hurting. And somehow that was all there was. [CHORUS — FEMALE, fuller drums, raw delivery] I knew better than I did, Saw the truth and let it live. Made a home inside a feeling That was never mine to give. You could feel me when you needed Something beautiful to believe. But understanding all your darkness Didn't mean you could see me. [BREAKDOWN — sub-bass drops out; male voice distant, distorted] [MALE — spoken, distant, four lines only] I can't feel myself anymore... Something's different... I don't know what's missing... I don't know what to do... [FEMALE — spoken, calm, without cruelty] I hope you find it. I really do. [BRIDGE — FEMALE, stripped to banjo and trembling fiddle] I've sat alone with ugly truths, With all the things I couldn't blame On someone else's broken promises, Or someone else's shame. I learned how much of love was longing, How much of longing was my need. And how the comfort of being wanted Could make a willing prisoner of me. I don't regret that I could see you. I regret what I ignored. I kept confusing being needed With being someone you adored. [FINAL CHORUS — FEMALE, fragile, no triumph; strings swell] I knew better than I did, And I won't pretend I didn't. I wanted what I couldn't have, And stayed longer than I should've. You can keep the things I gave you, They were honest when they came. But I can't keep being somewhere You go to feel yourself again. [OUTRO — FEMALE, nearly whispered; beat dissolves] I still hope you find your way. I still wish you understood. I can know why someone hurts me... And stop believing that makes it good. [FINAL INSTRUMENTAL — lone banjo note, bowed fiddle, long tape decay, silence]
