Stand on My Side

[Verse 1]
I count your smiles like they settle a debt
Say what you want, then I say it again
I make a bright joke before you can leave
Watch for your eyes to say I can breathe

[Pre-Chorus]
If I can make you want me tonight
Maybe the ache will get quiet awhile

[Chorus]
Love me, love me—say it like you mean it
Hold me in your eyes till I believe it
Everybody, give me one more sign
I keep chasing your yes like it could make me mine

[Verse 2]
I change my whole story to fit your applause
Turn every no into one more cause
I’m tired of auditioning, still I begin
Begging your faces to let me come in

[Bridge]
When the praise runs out, what do I keep?
A pulse that is mine, a name I can speak

[Final Chorus]
Love me, love me—say it like you mean it
I know your approval can’t heal what’s beneath it
Everybody, I’m done asking why
I can want to be loved and still stand on my side