Intro (spoken, low & raw)
Yeah…
Look, baby…
We go way back
Before bills, before pain, before I knew who I was
Fourteen… you remember
I do
Verse 1
Baby, we met when I was young as hell
Back when the world felt loud, couldn’t hear myself
You slowed it down, let my mind breathe
Had me seeing shit deeper, like my third eye peaked
You was there when my heart broke
There when nights felt cold on that D.C. smoke
Had me laughing till my stomach hurt
Turned my pain into jokes, made the worst feel less worse
I ain’t gon’ lie, you held me close
When life got heavy, you was who I chose
Every blunt was a conversation
Me and you plotting dreams, escaping the pavement
Pre-Chorus
But somewhere down the line, baby, shit switched up
I stopped visiting you, I moved in, got stuck
What was love started feeling like chains
Same routine, same high, same brain
Chorus
Baby, I love you, but I gotta let go
I been zoning out, moving too slow
My people say I don’t feel the same no more
Like I’m here but I’m gone, staring out the door
You calmed my nerves, helped me create
But you costing me time, money, and faith
I might say hi every now and then, maybe
But right now… I gotta say goodbye, baby
Verse 2
You helped me survive them dark-ass days
When tears fell silent, when I lost my way
When the city felt heavy, sirens all night
You made the chaos feel a little more light
But now my pockets hurting, dreams on pause
I keep saying “tomorrow,” knowing damn well I stall
I wanna build, wanna save, wanna grow
But I keep pressing replay instead of letting shit go
My folks looking at me like “you good?”
And I swear I am… just misunderstood
I ain’t lost, just been floating too long
Same circle, same couch, same song
Pre-Chorus
Baby, you my comfort, that’s the truth
But comfort can kill when it’s holding you
I need my fire back, need my focus clear
Need to face life raw, no smoke in the mirror
Chorus
Baby, I love you, but I gotta let go
Twenty years deep, that’s all I know
You helped me heal, helped me cope
But now I need me, not just hope
You sparked my mind, slowed my rage
But you keeping me stuck in the same damn page
I might say hi every now and then, maybe
But right now… I gotta say goodbye, baby
Bridge (spoken, emotional)
This ain’t hate…
This growth
You ain’t the enemy
You just can’t come where I’m going
Verse 3
I wanna wake up sharp, not hazy
Chasing peace, not just feeling lazy
I wanna show up present, locked in
For my people, my purpose, my future wins
Baby, you was a chapter, not the book
And I stayed too long, that’s the part I took
Still got love for you, no disrespect
Just gotta choose myself, that’s a fact
Outro / Chorus (soft, reflective)
So baby, goodbye… for now
I’m choosing clarity, I’m choosing how
If we cross paths later, it’ll be light, not heavy
But right now I gotta build, gotta steady
I love you…
But I love me more