You Should've Known Better

VERSE 1

You started turning that screen down low,
Taking midnight calls where I couldn't know,
New password, new habits, new shirt on the floor,
And a scent I couldn't place when you walked through the door.

You'd tell me “late shift,” but the hours went strange,
Your stories had details that would somehow change,
I wasn't looking for trouble, I was looking for truth,
But every little inconsistency pointed back to you.

PRE-CHORUS

Funny how a lie needs another lie to survive,
Till the truth starts showing up between every line,
You thought I was blind 'cause I didn't accuse,
I was watching your pattern, deciding what to choose.

CHORUS

Now you're begging at my door like I'm something you just found,
But where was all that missing when you were running around?
You chased every little spark, every temporary high,
Now you're calling it forever 'cause you finally watched it die.

That's not love changing shape, that's consequence coming due,
You don't suddenly know my worth 'cause I'm done with you,
You had my whole heart and treated it like something you could borrow,
You should've known better yesterday than begging me tomorrow.

VERSE 2

There's a funny thing about chasing that chemical flame,
Novelty can light up the brain without earning a name,
A little validation can feel like gold in the dark,
Till the thrill wears off and you're left with the mark.

You confused attraction with action and chemistry with character,
Attention with intention, desire with forever,
And maybe losing me woke up something you couldn't see,
But missing what you had ain't the same as changing who you'd be.

You say, “I swear I'm different,” like a promise is proof,
But transformation leaves fingerprints all over the truth,
If you've really done the work, you won't have to convince me,
A changed man doesn't need his old mistakes to define me.

PRE-CHORUS 2

You call it desperation, I call it consequence,
You call it losing love, I call it losing confidence
That I'd still be waiting when your wandering was through,
But I finally learned my worth doesn't need approval from you.

CHORUS

Now you're standing in the driveway saying you can't live without me,
Funny how you found forever when forever walked out quietly,
You wanted every freedom till freedom set you free,
Then you discovered what commitment means when commitment wasn't me.

Don't confuse the fear of losing with the courage to be true,
Don't confuse your loneliness with what I meant to you,
You may miss the way I loved you, but here's the part you can't undo:
I learned that being wanted isn't the same as being valued by you.

VERSE 3

My daddy used to open Mama's door,
Even after they'd been married twenty years or more,
Never made a grand production, never needed a crowd,
He just showed her with his actions what a man's love looked like out loud.

When Mama came home tired, he'd quietly make the tea,
Never kept score of the things he did, never asked for praise from me,
And if they disagreed, he never made her small,
He'd lower his voice before he'd ever raise it at all.

He told me, “Baby, perfection ain't what you should demand,
But watch how a man behaves when nobody's watching his hands.
A promise can sound pretty, but character stays true,
And a woman shouldn't have to beg a man to do what he wants to do.”

BRIDGE

So Daddy didn't teach me that a good man's never wrong,
He taught me real strength is admitting when you're wrong,
He taught me flowers don't erase what apologies repeat,
And love ain't just a feeling—it is how somebody treats you when the feeling gets inconvenient.
That's why your tears don't automatically change my mind,
That's why your “one more chance” can't rewrite the timeline,
You can hate what you did, and I hope you do,
But remorse is only the beginning of becoming someone new.

FINAL VERSE

I don't hate you, that's the part you probably won't understand,
I'm just finally holding myself with the same care I demanded from my man,
I don't need revenge, I don't need another woman's name,
I don't need you hurting just to prove that you feel my pain.

You wanted me back so badly once I learned to let you go,
Maybe losing my presence made your absence finally show,
But I won't walk backward just because you're finally looking straight,
I can forgive what happened without reopening that gate.

FINAL CHORUS

So keep the promises you make—not for me, but for the next one,
Become the man you said you were before you ever had me, if you want one,
Do the work when nobody's watching, when nobody applauds,
Learn that loyalty ain't something you perform—it is who you are.

'Cause I don't need you begging, and I don't need you blue,
I needed you faithful when I was faithfully loving you,
You finally understand my worth now that you can't hold me—
But that's not my loss, that's the lesson you owe me.

OUTRO

My daddy taught me love should feel safe, not something I survive,
And sometimes the strongest “I love you” is knowing when to say goodbye.

You can finally understand what you lost,
You can finally count the cost,
You can finally know my worth—

But you should've known better
before you ever made me pay the cost.