I Stay

Verse 1]
There were nights the world went quiet
Like it didn’t need me here
Every road felt hollow
Every future felt unclear

But then I’d hear your laughter
Or remember your face
And something in my chest would say
Stay

[Pre-Chorus]
Not because it’s easy
Not because it’s fair
But because love
Still lives here

[Chorus]
I stay because of you
Every single one
Five hearts that tied me
To the rising sun
When the dark says “let go”
I hear your names
And I stay
I stay

[Verse 2]
You don’t see the battles
I fight behind my eyes
The way I choose breathing
On the hardest nights

I don’t carry you like weight
I carry you like truth
You remind me who I am
When I forget it too

[Pre-Chorus]
You didn’t save me
You remind me
Why I save myself

[Chorus]
I stay because of you
Because love still calls me back
Five reasons to keep choosing
When the road goes black
I don’t stay out of fear
I stay out of flame
I stay
I stay

[Bridge]
One day you’ll live your own lives
And I won’t stand at the center
But know this —
You were never my burden
You were my tether

You didn’t replace my will
You awakened it

[Final Chorus]
I stay because of you
But I live because I can
Because you showed me
I still matter as I am
If the world ever tells you
I was weak or afraid
Know this —
I stayed
And that was strength

[Outro]
I’m still here
I’m still choosing
I’m still breathing

And every beat of my heart
Carries you —
not as my only reason,
but as my reminder
that life is worth staying for

Anthemic soul ballad  warm piano and strings, slow build, emotional lift, raw female vocal, grounded hope, life-affirmi