Out of this Town

[Intro]
I kept a key for every door
And left my own outside

[Verse 1]
You called from the station in a borrowed coat
I crossed three towns just to hear you speak
Then someone else left a note in my pocket
And I carried that promise for weeks

I learned the shape of every goodbye
The careful smile, the practiced excuse
Now every road has your name on it
And every mile asks me to choose

[Pre-Chorus]
I gave my yes away like water
Poured it out wherever it ran
Now both my hands are empty at the crossing
And I don’t know which way I am

[Chorus]
At the fork in the road, I’m standing still
With a heart that ran ahead of my will
I loved you freely, then I loved them too
Now every path is asking me who
I’ll be when the calling fades away
When I stop making promises to stay
At the fork in the road, let the dust settle down
I can’t carry every heart out of this town

[Verse 2]
There’s your blue scarf hung over the chair
Their old postcard tucked in a book
My sister says, “You can’t keep everybody”
I nod, but I still take another look

I mistook being needed for being known
Mistook open arms for a place to belong
Now I’m counting the names I can’t answer
And the nights I kept stretching too long

[Pre-Chorus]
I gave my yes away like water
Poured it out wherever it ran
Now both my hands are empty at the crossing
And I don’t know which way I am

[Chorus]
At the fork in the road, I’m standing still
With a heart that ran ahead of my will
I loved you freely, then I loved them too
Now every path is asking me who
I’ll be when the calling fades away
When I stop making promises to stay
At the fork in the road, let the dust settle down
I can’t carry every heart out of this town

[Bridge]
Maybe love was never meant to be a ledger
Maybe leaving isn’t proof I never cared
I can bless the miles between us
And still admit I wasn’t there

I’ll take one breath before the answer
Let the silence have its say
I don’t owe the world a map tonight
I can choose another day

[Group Chant]
One heart! One road!
No more borrowed load!

[Final Chorus]
At the fork in the road, I’m moving slow
Past the names I thought I had to know
I loved you freely, and I loved them too
But I can’t disappear to prove it’s true
I’ll be the one who hears my own name now
I’ll let a closed door stay closed somehow
At the fork in the road, I turn toward the dawn
Not every love is mine to carry on

[Outro]
The road can wait
My hands are mine
I choose a step
One at a time