[Style: dark folk / acoustic country]
[Tempo: slow, dragging, 66–70 BPM]
[Instrumentation: finger-picked acoustic guitar, faint slide guitar, light kick or stomp, subtle fiddle late]
[Intro]
[Single acoustic guitar, minor key, slow pick pattern]
[Verse 1]
You were my best friend when nobody stayed
Sat in the silence while the world walked away
You never asked questions, never said I was wrong
Just poured me another and let me go on
We laughed at the dark, let the night pass through
You felt like the only damn thing that was true
I thought I could hold you, I thought I was smart
Didn’t know I was shaking hands with my dark
[Chorus]
[Low harmony enters]
You said I won’t leave, I’ll stay till the end
I’m not your problem, I’m just your friend
But every promise you whispered at night
Cost me something I couldn’t get back in this life
[Verse 2]
You went everywhere, hell, you lived in my skin
Every goodbye, every place I’d been
Rode shotgun quiet, slept by my side
Made the wrong feel easy, made the truth hide
Didn’t feel steady unless you were near
Didn’t feel brave unless you were here
I called it comfort, I called it control
Didn’t see you digging a hole in my soul
[Chorus]
You said I won’t leave, I’ll stay till the end
I’m not your problem, I’m just your friend
But every promise you whispered at night
Cost me something I couldn’t get back in this life
[Verse 3]
[Fiddle comes in, low and mournful]
Then you took my family right out my hands
Turned love into ghosts I don’t understand
I stood up for you, I carried the blame
While you burned my bridges and smiled the same
Why’d you turn on me after all I gave
I built my whole life on a lie I believed
Now I stare at a stranger wearing my face
Still hearing your voice in this empty place
[Chorus]
[Stronger, rougher vocal]
You said I won’t leave, I’ll stay till the end
I’m not your problem, I’m just your friend
But every promise you whispered at night
Cost me something I couldn’t get back in this life
[Verse 4]
[Music pulls back again]
Now you come back quiet, saying let’s take it slow
Saying I won’t hurt you like before, you know
I tell myself I’m careful, I mind my steps
But you still got a hand around my breath
Truth is I drink so I don’t get sick
I don’t chase a buzz, I just try to exist
I hate that I need you just to feel okay
I hate that alone feels like I’d fade away
[Bridge]
[Almost spoken, guitar barely there]
I don’t love the bottle, I love the forget
I love the part where I don’t feel regret
Where the past goes quiet and my hands don’t shake
Where I get a break before the morning breaks
[Chorus]
[Final, fullest chorus]
You said I won’t leave, I’ll stay till the end
I’m not your problem, I’m just your friend
But every promise you whispered at night
Cost me something I couldn’t get back in this life
[Outro]
[Instruments fade, voice alone on last line]
You’re my best friend…
And the worst damn thing in my life