Man I Used To Be

[Verse 1]
Left your coffee on the counter
Lipstick on the porcelain
You were humming in the doorway
I was staring at my phone again
You asked me if I'd missed you
I laughed like it was nothing
But every joke I ever threw
Was just a way to keep from loving
[Chorus]
Now I'm scared of the man I used to be
The one who held you close and still felt free
I watched you pack your heart and take the key
Left alone here with the man I used to be
(oh, the man I used to be)
[Verse 2]
I see your sweater on the chair back
Haven't had the guts to move it yet
There are dents along your pillow
Like your shadow never left
I was busy being distant
Busy trying to feel strong
Funny how it took you leaving
To know I got it all wrong
[Chorus]
Now I'm scared of the man I used to be
The one who kissed your doubts to let you breathe
He disappeared the night I chose my pride over your tears
Now I'm living with the man I used to be
(yeah, the man I used to be)
[Bridge]
If I could hold that August evening
Take your hand and stay this time
I would trade my favorite stories
Just to rewrite one goodbye
[Chorus]
'Cause I miss being the man I used to be
Before I turned your trust into debris
If you ever find a way to forgive what you see
Maybe I could meet the man I used to be
Or learn to love
What’s left of me

Intimate stripped piano ballad, male vocals up close with soft pedal and subtle room reverb. Verse starts almost spoken on low chords, chorus blooms into aching high register and doubled topline. Sparse harmony swells on key phrases, light reverse ambience before the bridge, then a fragile final chorus that drops to just voice and a single, lingering piano voicing., ballad, raw