Verse 1
You say I make you feel like a monster
Every time I tell you where it hurt
Like naming what you did means I decided
That’s the only thing you’re worth
You hear blame when I’m asking for answers
You hear hate when I’m still trying to heal
But I wouldn’t need you to understand it
If I didn’t think you still could feel
Pre-Chorus
I know I’ve held the mirror too long
Made you stare at things you hate
But I wasn’t trying to punish you
I was trying to make us safe
Chorus
I don’t think you’re a monster
I think you made some monstrous mistakes
I think you hurt somebody who loved you
And there’s a difference in those things
I don’t think you’re heartless
That’s why the coldness hurts this bad
I wouldn’t keep asking for the man I knew
If I thought he was an act
You say I make you feel like a monster
But that’s never what I thought you were
Verse 2
I’ve seen the parts nobody mentions
When they’re telling me to walk away
I’ve seen you soften when I’m breaking
I’ve watched your whole expression change
I’ve heard apologies sound honest
I’ve felt safe inside your arms
And I’ve also stood there wondering
How those same hands could cause me harm
Both of those things can be honest
I don’t have to choose just one
You can be somebody who has hurt me
Without being only what you’ve done
Chorus
I don’t think you’re a monster
I think you’re scared of what you see
When I tell you how your choices
Changed something inside of me
And maybe every time I mention it
You think I’m keeping you on trial
But I was looking for some evidence
That you’d stay and make it right
Bridge
Maybe I said it angry
Maybe sometimes I went too far
Maybe I made your worst decisions
Sound like everything you are
And for that, I am sorry
That’s something I can own
But asking you to face the damage
Wasn’t throwing any stones
I needed you to understand me
Not spend forever feeling shame
Because shame says, “This is who I am.”
Love says, “Then fucking change.”
Final Chorus
So no, you’re not a monster
And maybe here’s the twisted part
The reason I kept fighting with you
Was I still believed your heart
I thought if you could really see it
You’d never hurt me that way twice
I thought the man I knew was in there
And he’d eventually make it right
You thought every time I brought it up
I was telling you what you are
But I was asking you to prove to me
You were bigger than your scars
Because if I thought you were a monster,
I wouldn’t have begged you to change.
I would’ve been afraid of losing you.
I was afraid you’d stay the same.