Only When You Stayed

Verse 1:

You held my hands like you meant it,
Eyes so warm, words so kind.
But promises fell through your fingers,
Like they were never mine.
You said my name like it mattered,
Said “forever” soft and slow.
But love should leave a trace behind it,
And yours never showed.

Pre-Chorus:

I searched for you in the silence,
Between your lies and your truth.
You were close, but never with me,
Just passing through.

Chorus:

You loved me only when you stayed,
Only when I was in your arms.
You vanished every time you left,
Left me bruised, but still in love.
Your love was words, never weight,
Never something I could hold.
Beautiful when you were near —
Cruel when you were gone.

Verse 2:

I believed in the version you sold me,
The man you pretended to be.
But faith can’t live on empty sentences,
And love needs honesty.
You broke me softly, piece by piece,
With truths you never said.
And I kept loving the idea of you,
While you loved being wanted instead.

Pre-Chorus:

I tried to be enough for both of us,
Carried hope where you felt none.
I was fighting for a future,
You were already gone.

Chorus:

You loved me only when you stayed,
Only when the night felt safe.
But daylight showed what you couldn’t give,
And I paid for your escape.
Your love was words, never weight,
Never something I could hold.
Beautiful when you were near —
Cruel when you were gone.

Bridge (very soft, almost whispered):

I didn’t lose you —
I lost the dream of us.
Because love that has to beg to breathe
Was never love enough.

Final Chorus (quiet, resigned):

You loved me only when you stayed,
And I loved you even when you lied.
I mistook longing for devotion,
And silence for trying.
Now I let go of what never was,
And grieve what I believed.
I deserved a love that stayed —
Not one that only spoke to me.

Outro:

I loved you when you stayed.
But I survived when you left.

piano ballad, Ballade, female, fragile, intimate