The Part We Never Fixed

VERSE 1 — MALE
I drove past your street last Friday night
Didn't mean to, I just took the long way
There was a porch light burning by the window
Same little corner where you'd wait for me

I almost called, then I remembered
How good we got at hanging up
Funny how a town can stay the same
While two people change too much

PRE-CHORUS — MALE
I could tell myself I don't remember
I could say I finally let it go
But some roads know exactly where you've been
Even when you don't want them to

CHORUS — BOTH
We were good at holding on
We were better at letting go
You knew every place I was weak
I knew every word that could hurt you most

Maybe that's the part we never fixed
Not the leaving, not the goodbye
We just never learned how to love each other
Without losing a little of ourselves inside

VERSE 2 — FEMALE
You always tell the story like you tried
Like I was the one who closed the door
You leave out all those nights I sat beside you
Feeling lonely with you on the other side

I don't blame you for the person you became
I just wish you'd seen me while I was there
I wasn't asking you to save me
I was asking you to care

PRE-CHORUS — FEMALE
And I won't pretend I never hurt you
I know exactly what I did
But there's a difference between being angry
And forgetting why you left

CHORUS — BOTH
We were good at holding on
We were better at letting go
You knew every place I was weak
I knew every word that could hurt you most

Maybe that's the part we never fixed
Not the leaving, not the goodbye
We just never learned how to love each other
Without losing a little of ourselves inside

VERSE 3 — MALE / FEMALE
MALE:
I thought you wanted somebody better

FEMALE:
I wanted you to want to be better

MALE:
I thought you stopped believing in us

FEMALE:
I stopped believing you'd hear me

MALE:
I should've stayed when you were talking

FEMALE:
I should've talked instead of leaving

MALE:
I was scared I'd never be enough

FEMALE:
I was scared I'd disappear trying to make you enough

MALE:
Maybe we were both afraid

FEMALE:
Maybe we just called it pride

BOTH:
When what we really couldn't face
Was how much we still needed to change

BRIDGE — BOTH
MALE:
If I could go back, I'd listen longer

FEMALE:
If I could go back, I'd stay a little softer

MALE:
I'd trade being right for one more chance

FEMALE:
I'd trade my silence for an honest answer

MALE:
But time don't owe us another beginning

FEMALE:
And love can't erase what happened

BOTH:
Maybe losing you wasn't the ending
Maybe it was the lesson
That loving somebody
And knowing how to love them
Are two different things

FINAL CHORUS — BOTH
We were good at holding on
We were better at letting go
You knew every place I was weak
I knew every word that could hurt you most

Maybe that's the part we never fixed
Not the leaving, not the goodbye
We just never learned how to love each other
Without losing a little of ourselves inside

MALE:
And if somebody asks me where you are—

FEMALE:
Tell them I'm somewhere learning how to breathe—

MALE:
I hope you found the peace I couldn't give you

FEMALE:
I hope you found the man you needed me to believe in

BOTH:
And if we never find our way back
I won't call what we had a waste
Some people aren't meant to stay forever
They're meant to leave a mark you carry anyway

OUTRO — STRIPPED DOWN
MALE:
I still take the long way sometimes.

FEMALE:
I still look for your truck when I pass that road.

MALE:
Guess some things don't disappear.

FEMALE:
They just stop being yours.

BOTH, softly:
And maybe that's okay.