Louis JohnstonAuthor

Verse 1

I don’t leave the porch light
burning.
I don’t wait up anymore.

I know goodbye by the sound
of tires
And the slam of a screen door.

I can smile like it never
happened.
I can swear I don’t give a
damn.

But every time I say I’m over
it,
That night comes back again.

Pre-Chorus

Pain doesn’t leave—it changes
clothes
And finds a place nobody
knows.

I learned to answer, “I’m all
right,”
Then leave the hallway light
on all night.

Chorus

The hurt gets worse, the heart
gets harder,
One more goodbye, one more
layer of armor.

You lock every door, you turn
out every light,
Call it being strong—but you’re
scared to let love inside.

Anger burns, but it won’t take
you farther.
Cold ain’t courage, and alone
ain’t smarter.

The hurt gets worse, the heart
gets harder—
But we were never meant to
stay stone.

We were never meant to stay
stone.

Verse 2

I’ve lost people I thought I’d
grow old with,
Watched forever turn into
gone.

Got good at changing subjects,
Let folks believe that I’d
moved on.

I wore silence like a warning,
Kept my answers short and
cold.

But nobody ever tells you
How heavy that armor grows.

Pre-Chorus

Every scar becomes a lesson.
Every lesson draws a line.

Draw enough of them around
you,
And nobody gets inside.

Chorus

The hurt gets worse, the heart
gets harder,
One more goodbye, one more
layer of armor.

You lock every door, you turn
out every light,
Call it being strong—but you’re
scared to let love inside.

Anger burns, but it won’t take
you farther.
Cold ain’t courage, and alone
ain’t smarter.

The hurt gets worse, the heart
gets harder—
But we were never meant to
stay stone.

We were never meant to stay
stone.

Bridge

Let these walls come down
around me.
Let the truth cut to the bone.

I’d rather ache with my heart
wide open
Than never let another soul
get close.

I am more than what has left
me.
I am more than what I’ve lost.

Lord, help me answer when
love comes knocking—
I’m tired of keeping every door
locked.

Final Chorus

The hurt got worse, my heart
got harder,
One more goodbye, one more
layer of armor.

I locked every door, I turned
out every light,
But surviving alone ain’t the
same as a life.

I’m laying it down, though
some days are harder.
Cold wasn’t courage, and
alone wasn’t smarter.

The hurt got worse, my heart
got harder—
But I was never meant to stay
stone.

Outro

No, I was never meant to stay
stone.

I took the stones from every
wall
And built a road that leads me
home.