Damage Control

VERSE 1 — FEMALE]
I deleted your number, still know it by heart
Funny how goodbye never really means apart
I can tell everybody that I'm better alone
Then your name lights my phone and I'm halfway home
We got history written all over these scars
You know exactly where they are
I know exactly what you hide
So why we keep pretending we're alright?
You say you don't need me
I say I don't need you
But every time we get close
We do what we always do
PRE-CHORUS — FEMALE
Maybe we're bad for each other
Maybe we're scared of somebody better
Maybe it's pride, maybe it's pain
But every road I take leads back your way
(harmony enters)
And I don't wanna lie...
CHORUS — BOTH
Don't make me choose between my heart and my pride
'Cause I lose either way when you're not by my side
You can walk out the door, say we're better apart
But you can't take your fingerprints off my heart
Don't make me choose, don't make me choose
'Cause loving you feels like something I can't lose
We can fight, we can run, we can say we're through
But when the night gets quiet...
I still come back to you.
(Male ad-lib: “Back to you...”)
(Female harmony: “I come back...”)
VERSE 2 — MALE
Yeah...
I ain't gon' act like I ain't part of the problem
You wanted communication, I gave you silence
You wanted reassurance, I gave you distance
Then wondered why you stopped believing in us
I know I got a heart, I just don't show it right
Been fighting with myself every damn night
You see the worst in me, I see the best in you
That's probably why leaving never follows through
You tell your friends that you don't miss me
I know that's a lie
'Cause if I call at two in the morning
You still pick up on the first try
We ain't perfect
We ain't easy
But baby, what's perfect anyway?
If I lose you, I lose something
I don't know how to replace
PRE-CHORUS — MALE + FEMALE
MALE:
Maybe we're bad for each other...
FEMALE:
Maybe we're scared of forever...
MALE:
Maybe I hurt you more than I meant to...
FEMALE:
Maybe I pushed when I should've let you...
BOTH:
But every time we say goodbye
We end up right back here tonight.
CHORUS — BOTH
Don't make me choose between my heart and my pride
'Cause I lose either way when you're not by my side
You can walk out the door, say we're better apart
But you can't take your fingerprints off my heart
Don't make me choose, don't make me choose
'Cause loving you feels like something I can't lose
We can fight, we can run, we can say we're through
But when the night gets quiet...
I still come back to you.
BRIDGE — FEMALE
Maybe love ain't supposed to be easy
Maybe we're learning while we're bleeding
Maybe forgiveness ain't forgetting
Maybe we're worth another beginning
(soft)
I don't need perfect...
I just need honest.
RAP VERSE — MALE
Look...
I done learned that money can't buy peace
And pride ain't worth losing somebody you need
I could have a hundred women in the room
Still wouldn't change what I feel when I look at you
You know my flaws, you know my past
Know every reason I should've never made it last
But you stayed when it would've been easier to leave
That's the kind of loyalty that make a man believe
I ain't promising we won't ever fight
I'm promising I'll be there when we do this time
No more disappearing when the pressure get heavy
If I'm calling you mine, then I'ma make myself ready
'Cause you ain't just somebody I can replace
You're the one I see when I look at my future
And if I'm being honest with myself...
I don't wanna lose you.
BREAK — FEMALE
(music drops almost completely out)
Then don't.
(pause)
Don't make me choose.
FINAL CHORUS — BOTH, BIGGEST SECTION
Don't make me choose between my heart and my pride
'Cause I lose either way when you're not by my side
You can walk out the door, say we're better apart
But you can't take your fingerprints off my heart
Don't make me choose, don't make me choose
'Cause loving you feels like something I can't lose
We can fight, we can run, we can say we're through
But when the night gets quiet...
I still come back to you.
MALE:
I come back...
FEMALE:
I come back...
BOTH:
I always come back to you.
(female vocal run)
“Ooooh, back to you...”
(male ad-lib)
“Yeah, yeah...”
BOTH:
So don't make me choose...
'Cause I'd choose you.
OUTRO — FEMALE + MALE
FEMALE:
I know we ain't perfect...
MALE:
But neither am I.
FEMALE:
So if you're gonna stay...
MALE:
I'm staying this time.
BOTH:
Don't make me choose...
(beat fades)
I choose you.