Stayed Too Long

Verse 1

I loved you quiet, didn’t make a scene,

Held it down, kept us in between.

I let a lot slide just to keep the peace,

But peace ain’t peace when it costs me sleep.

I gave you grace you didn’t earn,

Stayed too long, but that’s how I learn.

I came to you full, open-handed,

You loved me light when I needed grounded.

Pre-Chorus (Summer Walker softness)

You feel good, but you don’t feel right,

That’s the truth I fight at night.

I still reach, then I pull back,

‘Cause I know where that leads at.

Chorus

I love you, I hate you,

Say it slow, say it plain.

You feel like comfort,

But you come with pain.

I want your arms, but I need my peace,

And I can’t keep losing me.

I love you, I hate you—

And I’m done choosing what hurts me.

Verse 2

I was a woman before you noticed,

Before you loved me when it was convenient.

You wanted my heart without the weight,

My softness, not what made me this way.

I held you down, you held me back,

Called it love, but it felt like lack.

Every time I asked for more,

You said I was asking too much.

Pre-Chorus

You know my body like a habit,

You say my name like you mean it.

But you don’t know how to keep me safe

When loving me takes effort.

Chorus

I love you, I hate you,

Both feel like home.

I miss your touch,

But I love my soul.

You’re the lesson I had to learn

When I stopped begging to be chosen.

I love you, I hate you—

And I’m finally choosing grown.

Bridge

I stayed ‘cause I saw your potential.

Left ‘cause you never met mine.

I don’t hate you,

I just love me enough to stop lying.

Love shouldn’t leave me empty,

Shouldn’t feel like I’m hard to keep.

Final Chorus / Outro

I love you, I hate you,

And that’s okay.

Some people teach you

What not to stay.

If you come back, it gotta be real—

‘Cause I don’t beg love to stay anymore.