I Stayed Too Long to Be the Villain

Verse 1

I learned how to hold my breath in a burning room

Smile through the smoke, call it maturity

I fixed every crack till the walls looked straight

But they still leaned on me like gravity

I took the blame just to keep the peace

Carried knives they swore were mine

Every time I chose to stay quiet

They rewrote me one more time

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Pre-Chorus

I wore their version of my name

Till it started sounding true

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Chorus

I stayed too long to be the villain

In a story I tried to save

Held the door while they burned the house

Then blamed me for the flames

I wasn’t cruel, I was patient

I wasn’t wrong, I was brave

But mercy turns into a weapon

When you stay too long to be the villain

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Verse 2

I folded myself into smaller shapes

So nobody felt threatened by my spine

I called it love, I called it growth

But it felt like leaving myself behind

They needed someone to point at

Someone strong enough to break

So I stood there till the mirror cracked

And the damage learned my face

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Pre-Chorus

Funny how silence gets accused

When truth won’t play along

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Chorus

I stayed too long to be the villain

In a story I tried to save

Held the door while they burned the house

Then blamed me for the flames

I wasn’t cruel, I was patient

I wasn’t wrong, I was brave

But mercy turns into a weapon

When you stay too long to be the villain

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Bridge

I don’t hate them — that’s the worst part

Hate would make this clean

I just finally chose myself

And they called that leaving

If being whole makes me the monster

Let the rumors eat my name

I’d rather walk alone in truth

Than rot inside the blame

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Final Chorus

I stayed too long to be the villain

Now I’m done explaining why

You can keep the broken narrative

I’m taking back my life

I won’t bleed to prove I’m good

I won’t beg to be forgave

If choosing peace makes me the villain

Then I’ll wear it — and walk away

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Outro

I didn’t lose who I was

I just stopped letting it be used