Reason I Stay

[Verse 1]
Haven’t called my friends in weeks
Let the messages decay
Let the dishes in the sink
Match the chaos in my brain
Staring at the ceiling fan
Waiting for the dark to talk
Every plan I ever had
Feels like chalk on broken rock
[Pre-Chorus]
I’ve been making distance feel
Like it’s all I know
Burning every bridge I build
Just to watch it glow
[Chorus]
But your little hands
Pull me back from the edge
Tiny voice saying “Daddy”
Keeps rewinding my regret
Every time my fear
Tries to drag me away
I look in your eyes and I remember
You’re the reason I stay
You’re the reason I stay (yeah)
[Verse 2]
I get sharp when I’m afraid
Turn the kindness into steel
Say I’m tired
Close the door
Hide the parts I cannot heal
People try to pull me out
But I’d rather disappear
Then I hear you down the hall
Laughing loud
Cutting through the fear
[Pre-Chorus]
I’ve been treating love like fire
Pushing it aside
But you run into my arms
Like the flames feel right
[Chorus]
‘Cause your little hands
Pull me back from the edge
Tiny voice saying “Daddy”
Keeps rewinding my regret
Every time my fear
Tries to drag me away
I look in your eyes and I remember
You’re the reason I stay
You’re the reason I stay (oh)
[Bridge]
Maybe one day I’ll explain
Why the nights felt like a war
How a four-year-old’s “I love you”
Built a lock on every door
I’m still battling the shadows
But they don’t get the final say
‘Cause I promised you forever
And I wake up for that promise every day
[Chorus]
Yeah
Your little hands
Pull me back from the edge
Tiny voice saying “Daddy”
Keeps rewinding my regret
Every time my fear
Tries to drag me away
I look in your eyes and I remember
You’re the reason I stay
You’re the reason I stay (hey)
You’re the reason I stay

pop, Moody modern pop with sparse piano and warm pads under intimate male vocals. First verse almost whispered, kick entering gently in the pre-chorus, then a wide, soaring hook with stacked harmonies and subtle vocal chops. Second pass of the chorus adds brighter synths and a lifted drum groove for emotional release, then everything drops back to piano and voice on the last line.