the last box

Lyrics

Intro
I kept the last box by the door
Like leaving had to look like leaving
You said, “Come home”
I heard you

Verse 1
I sold the watch my father gave me for a fold
Then the winter coat, then the speakers, then the gold
Anything that wasn’t nailed down got a price
I called it getting by; I knew the darker truth twice
I was counting little bags while you counted my breaths
Telling me, “You’re still in there,” when I looked like a wreck
I made a home out of excuses, made a bed out of shame
You kept saying my whole name like it still meant something

Pre-Chorus
I thought the bottom had a trapdoor
Turns out there was ground beneath
You stood there with your hands open
I had nothing left to keep

Chorus
I gave it all up for love
The last lie, the last run
The things I sold, the friends I lost
The man I was becoming
When everybody said, “I got your back,”
They disappeared when the hard days came
I was alone till you stayed long enough
To help me choose a different name
I gave it all up for love
And I’m still learning how to live

Verse 2
They were loud when there was something they could take from me
Had a hundred “brother” speeches, not a ride at three
When the money dried, their numbers went to voicemail
Funny how a loyal promise never leaves a paper trail
I learned the ones who clap don’t always want you well
Some were passing me a match and calling it a lifeline from hell
You didn’t swear that you could fix me, didn’t dress it up as fate
You said, “I’ll walk beside you, but you choose the next day”

Pre-Chorus
So I faced the empty counter
And the things I couldn’t hide
You held the door, not my excuses
I had to step outside

Chorus
I gave it all up for love
The last lie, the last run
The things I sold, the friends I lost
The man I was becoming
When everybody said, “I got your back,”
They disappeared when the hard days came
I was alone till you stayed long enough
To help me choose a different name
I gave it all up for love
And I’m still learning how to live

Bridge
Some mornings, wanting calls me by my old address
Some nights, I count the cost and feel the old regret
But your toothbrush by the sink, my coat back on the hook
A quiet kind of future that I didn’t think I’d get
I can’t repay the things I pawned or bring those people back
I can only tell the truth and keep my hands from reaching back
Love didn’t make me innocent, it gave me room to choose
One honest hour, then one more—that’s how I make it through

Final Chorus
I gave it all up for love
Not because the road got kind
The last lie, the last run
One day, one choice at a time
When everybody said, “I got your back,”
I found out who would stay
I was alone, but I wasn’t finished
You helped me see another way
I gave it all up for love
And I’m still learning how to live

Outro
The last box is empty
The door is open
I don’t need to sell another piece of me
To prove I’m still here