Take a deep breath in, reread old letters
Don't listen to the fear
Trapped by comparison, replayed scenarios
Where good things disappear

​ The devil on my shoulder keeps whispering things to bring me down
So blinded by the future that I can't see what I've found

Chorus:
You are the dawn about to break
The reason to change my mind and risk I'm willing to take
And you are the calm after a storm,
The haunting when you're gone that leaves me only wanting more
Wait for the stomach drop ‘cause I know that the fall is coming soon
No words— I'm too caught up; there’s too much to lose Forever seems far but it fits with your name like separated puzzle pieces
I've been breaking apart and you are what I've needed

​ You are like a dream; too perfect to believe
Hard to think that you're real
If you're reality, why can't I just let go
And say the way I feel

​ Tired of hurting you when I can see that you're concerned
But oh I'm bound by mistakes so I'm fucking taciturn

Chorus

Teach me how to love like a one way ticket
And move steadfast even when fog thickens
Teach me how to stop putting up these barricades
Withering away, 'nother daybreak closes
Try to regain strength, but my heart opposes
Surrendering's call has me so afraid

​ Chorus:
Make me a Phoenix rising up again from the ash
Be the embers that set my soul alight and finally strike a match
Maybe it's you my wandering heart's been waiting for
To finally take a rest
The rest is up to us

​ Teach me to knock down all the walls
I'm building
Finally unlock my heart and let you in
Be the home I know I can always return to
Only saw empty painted faces in crowds
Cloaked myself in distrusting's protective shrouds
But somehow now everything leads me back to you

​ Chorus

Pour me a tall glass
To drown out my regret
Brace for the impact
Of these familiar secrets

​ Love’s an addiction
Only leaving ruin
Loathe the infliction
Of pain from luring you in

​ Oh I tried to make the sacrifice
And escape from the toxic high we seem to crave
But nothing’s enough to suffice
And desire’s a drug that always captivates
And I’ll be the first to take the blame
But let me go so I can finally be freed
Need to run from this vertigo
I need to be clean

​ There’s an empty room
In which you will find me
Hard not to assume
Everyone is guilty

​ For we all just try to fill our holes
Someone to bring sweet relief to our selfish souls
The old prescription that we’re told:
‘Infatuated freedom will keep us going’
And I bought into the sale
And shattered hearts with swallowed truths and hopes regaled
I can’t long for blissful release
I need to be clean

​ Forgive me; I’ve been so lost
Forgive me; I’ve been so lost
Forgive him; he’s been so lost
Forgive us; we’ve been so lost

I’ll be here just the same
I’ll be here waiting in the shadows, here riding out the rough waves
Anything more, I don’t want anything more than to restore your happiness
So if you say you have to leave now

​ I remember how contagious your smile was the day you told me about her
Months flew by; I watched love blossom from the sidelines
Stories unfold across the table at the diner

​ And I held you as things decomposed
Your worry for her took control
Your eyes showed to me that that love was true
Watched as storms brewed beneath your skin
Your walls crumbled, you let me in
I found I’d do anything for you

​ Don’t you know I’ll be here just the same
I’ll be here waiting in the shadows, here riding out the rough waves
Anything more, I don’t want anything more than to ensure your happiness
So if you say you have to leave now, maybe it’s for the best

​ I remember the look of devastation on your face you tried so hard to hide
Buildings tumbled, we all fumbled for our balance
And waited for the dangerous tremors to subside
Still we kept playing this chess game
With hearts as pawns and exchanged shameful melodies only the two of us heard
It killed me to watch you suffer as you struggled to recover
Swore I’d clean up everything that occurred

​ But don’t you know I’ll be here just the same
I’ll be here waiting in the shadows, here riding out the rough waves
Anything more, I don’t want anything more than to restore your happiness
So if you say you have to leave now, maybe it’s for the best

​ I’ll right these wrongs; I’ll carry the weight
If it means saving two, I’ll be the one to take the heartbreak
You know some things are too good to let slip away
Some things I shouldn’t have condoned
But still I promise you that you will never ever be alone
I remember, I’ll remember

​ Oh don’t you know I’ll be here always
No matter what you choose now, I’ll be here if you need me one day
Anything more, I don’t want anything more than to ensure your happiness
So if you say you have to leave now
If you say you need to leave me now
If she says you have to leave me now, maybe it’s for the best
I'll remember

I cherish two carefree years beside you
No one quite like us, a rarity
But your feelings evolved and only grew
It's all too familiar to me

​ Separated by cities and shorelines
The ocean can't wash the hurt away
And when we finally reunite
I can tell there's so much you won't say

​ There's a boy I know
Who misread the signals
And had amity shift to his descent
Easy for lines to blur
A heart left hungrier
Connections can be hard to comprehend
But even so I know we were never the same

​ Wilted boutonnières perched on a dresser
Next to letters laced with faint perfume
Much as I pretend, oh I confess you're
So hard to forget; maybe I don't want to

​ Smiles try to disguise but damp eyes reveal
Their cold confusion cuts to the core
I know I need to give you time to heal
Oh it's so hard to go back to the way before

​ There's a man I know
Who chose to let sparks grow
He made mistakes he then tried to defend
So often the lines blur
A heart left hungrier
Emotions kept him from making amends
But even so I know we were never the same

​ So let them ask me, "Who's the boy whose echoes fill your songs?"
And let them pass judgement and think they know
They will never guess the depth, yes they'll always be wrong
We're not the others who've walked down this road

​ There's someone I know
Who had more taken than bestowed
Was left with cuts I wish that I could mend
Easy for lines to blur
A heart left hungrier
A bitter aftertaste from the word 'friend'
Oh so I know, I know we'll never be the same

​ Torturous reminders every moment
Fragments of you that I can't escape
My sweater seems to taunt me with your scent
On every radio a Billy Joel song plays

​ You can choose to leave photographs frameless
But I'll still keep dozens up to see
You can choose to always leave me nameless
I don't think I could ever repress you and me

​ There's a girl I know
Who broke the heart she stole
A casualty she'll always repent
Too often the lines blur
A heart left hungrier
Sometimes scars left are worse than we intend
Tale that's happened countless times and I'm sure will again
But even so I know we'll never be the same
Oh and I know I know, I'll never be the same

So here it is: maybe I love you by obligation
And maybe I just never learned the way to leave
And here it is: maybe I’ve lost my motivation
I’ve been suffocating and he’s the one who helped me breathe

​ Pre-Chorus:
And you know I’ve never liked change
My world’s exploding in my face
Lost on a path we didn’t anticipate
The pieces slowly rearrange
I feel myself losing faith
But through the tears, I still hear my grandmother say:

“Sometimes you gotta let the world burn
And sometimes you gotta put yourself first.
Even the strongest have things they can’t withstand. Sometimes your kindness keeps you confined
And sometimes you have to leave love behind.
Sometimes you can’t let things go the way you planned.”

​ So here it is: maybe you’re right and I’m giving up
And maybe I’ve just euphemized the gravity
And here it is: maybe we’ll never be enough
Maybe the one I need to love this time is me

​ Pre-Chorus
​ “Sometimes you gotta let the world burn
And sometimes you gotta put yourself first.
Even the strongest have things they can’t withstand.” (Oh I won’t withstand)
“Sometimes you gotta let things unwind
And sometimes you have to leave love behind.
Sometimes you can’t let things go the way you planned.”

​ And maybe now’s the time to figure this all out
Guess that when it rains, it pours
Somehow I’ve managed to swallow the doubt
But I just keep fighting more
And empty promises don’t fill me up the way they used to
And oaths to change, just another exchange I’ve grown immune to
Maybe I’ll stand better on my own without your loving’s residue

​ So here it is: maybe you’re right and I’m giving up

​ “Oh sometimes you gotta let the world burn
And sometimes you gotta put yourself first.
Even the strongest have things they can’t withstand.
Oh sometimes the enemy is your mind
And sometimes you have to leave love behind.” (Leaving you behind)
“Simply hoping won’t make him a better man.”