Verse 1
The welcome sign’s still leaning like it always did
Paint peeling off, but nobody fixed it
The diner smells like burnt coffee and time
And I swear the clock’s been stuck since ’09
The old man on the corner used to wave at cars
Now he stares through them like they’ve gone too far
His hands shake when he lights his cigarette
Guess we all learned how to carry regret
Pre-Chorus
They said nothing ever changes here
But they didn’t mean it stays the same
Chorus
I came back home and everything’s different
Same streets, just older skin in them
More lines around the eyes, more ghosts in bars
Prom queens trading crowns for county scars
The outcast left and built a life somewhere
While the rest of us stayed and learned despair
Funny how the ones we judged the most
Are the ones who made it out alive, I suppose
Verse 2
The football field’s still louder on Fridays
But the cheers sound tired, like they aged
Saw my old teacher stocking shelves at night
Said “life’s funny,” but it didn’t feel right
Everyone’s married or divorced by now
Same last names written on different houses
We talk about dreams like they’re old jokes
Laugh too loud so no one knows
Pre-Chorus
They told us we’d be legends someday
Guess they forgot to say where
Chorus
I came back home and everything’s different
Same sins, just dressed up different
More wrinkles, less hope, cheaper thrills
Same excuses, bigger pills
Prom kings in jail, mugshots framed in shame
Still calling it bad luck, not taking the blame
And the kid we pushed out, called strange and wrong
Is living far away, proving us all wrong
Bridge (quiet, almost spoken)
I thought leaving meant I failed
Thought staying meant I was loyal
Turns out both just hurt in different ways
And neither one comes with a manual
Sometimes I miss who I was back then
Before I knew how this story ends
Before I learned nostalgia lies
And calls it love to keep you kind
Final Chorus
I came back home and I barely fit
Like I outgrew the version they remember me in
Same sidewalks, different ghosts
Same town, but it knows me less the most
I don’t hate it here, that’s the worst part
Still feels like home, still breaks my heart
Guess some places don’t let you leave clean
They just wait quietly for you to see
Outro
The old man’s gone from the corner now
Someone said he moved, someone said he passed
Guess that’s how it goes in towns like these
You don’t notice change till it’s in the past
