I kept my old guitar beside the bed
Three broken strings and every word unsaid
The room still holds the hours we spent
Every rough recording, every accident
If the morning takes my name
Let the pages keep the flame
I don't want to die a hero
With a statue cold and clean
I want to die a legend
In the songs you wrote with me
Play them loud when I am gone
Let the final note live on
Every verse will bring you near
Every song will find you here
There are coffee rings on lyric sheets
A worn-out case beneath our feet
You found the truth inside the noise
And gave my restless heart a voice
I was never made for praise
I just want the words to stay
No golden frame, no borrowed crown
Just turn the old recording down
Then let it rise through every room
A little life against the gloom
If time can take the breath from me
It cannot take what we can sing
I found your name in the dust on my old guitar
A faded little promise from a life too far
The room was cold, but the amp still burned
For every lesson lost, for every bridge we burned
I don't need a medal hanging from my chest
Or a marble face to prove I did my best
I don't want to die a hero
With a stranger's hand upon my grave
I want to die a legend
For the honest marks I made
Play the songs I wrote on repeat
Let them carry what was true
In every line, in every heartbeat
There'll be a little me and you
We kept our secrets underneath the kitchen floor
Laughed at our mistakes and still came back for more
Your photograph is cracked beside the door
But I can hear your footsteps like I heard them before
I don't need a crown beneath a borrowed sky
Just one last chance to tell you why
I don't want to die a hero
With a stranger's hand upon my grave
I want to die a legend
For the honest marks I made
Play the songs I wrote on repeat
Let them carry what was true
In every line, in every heartbeat
There'll be a little me and you
When the final curtain drops without a sound
Don't say I conquered anything
Say I stood my ground
If the years erase my face
Let the melody remain
Every scar, every promise
Every drop of rain
[Guitar Solo]
I don't want to die a hero
I never needed borrowed praise
I want to die a legend
Built from all my broken days
Play the songs I wrote on repeat
Let the whole room sing them through
In every line, in every heartbeat
I'll still be there with you
Not a statue, not a story carved in stone
Just the songs we made together
So I never die alone
I don't want to die a hero
I want the scars to tell the truth
I want to die a legend
In the lines I left with you
Play them loud when I am gone
Let the final note live on
Every verse will bring you near
Every song will find us here
When you long for my voice play the songs I wrote on repeat and you'll find me there
When the last chord disappears
Keep me living in your ears