written by delikately
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LYRICS
click the album cover to show / hide lyrics
i don't know how long i'll stay better
by delikately
mm
made the bed like you’d be back
folded your side out of habit
yeah
phone face-down
still charging overnight
like i’m waiting
but i’m not
i’m not better
but i’m trying
i swear i am, i swear i—
if you’re gonna come back
do it now
come back while i’m still like this
washed my hair
ate something
sort of
please
come back while i’m still like this
before i say something i can’t un-say
if you’re gonna love me
do it now
ah
bought oat milk
like maybe i’d start showing up for myself
you said i seemed lighter
yeah
i’ve been skipping dinner and conversations
it’s easier to disappear
than say i need room to fall apart without being asked to clean it up
i’m not better
but i’m trying
i swear i am, i swear i—
if you’re gonna come back
do it now
come back while i still believe you could
before i make a joke and ruin it
please
come back while i’m still like this
before i start drinking again
if you’re gonna love me
don’t wait for me to ask
okay, you want honesty?
i don’t know how long this version of me lasts
this “doing great”
this “sleeping through the night”
this “so glad we talked”
i’ve been good lately
like suspiciously good
like i’m stalling
like i know what’s coming
like i’m about to fall apart again
so if you’re coming back
now’s the time
come back while i still make sense
while i still remember
how to hold myself together
in front of you
before i remember how bad it got
before i go quiet again
before i rewrite it in my head
and swear i made the whole thing up
i don’t know how long i’ll stay better
so if you’re gonna love me
do it now
you were good to me
by delikately
i picked fights on days you looked happy
turned the volume down just to hear you sigh
then asked if i was mad
said “why do you always think that?”
and went quiet for an hour
mm
yeah
i made you guess
and then got mad
when you got it wrong every time
you were good to me
in ways i didn’t think i deserved
so i made it hard
every day
dared you to go
just to prove you wouldn’t stay
just so i could say
“see? i knew it”
took the long way home
couldn’t risk seeing you
but hated knowing i wouldn’t
started talking like you weren’t there
made the room colder
so i wouldn’t have to say
i was scared you still might want me
mm
yeah
i forgot what started it
just to see if you’d still stay
you were good to me
in ways i didn’t think i deserved
and i made it harder
pushed you past your limit
every time you stayed
when you shouldn’t have
until you didn’t
i needed to prove
you had a breaking point
so i chipped at it
little things, at first
then bigger
then you stopped calling
and i acted surprised
you were kind
i made that your weakness
i made it hard so you would leave
you should’ve hated me sooner
but you waited
and i used it
and i hate that you let me
it wasn’t love i didn’t believe in
it was myself
and i made sure
you’d never try again
girl who has no chill
by delikately
ah
you were up again, past 3 am
losing sleep over a deadline you made up
still thinking the perfect font
could make the burnout worth it
“it’s fine. it’s fine.”
but i saw it. every unsent post
every time you told no one
that you were drowning in your own potential
mm-mm
you don’t know it, but you saved me
with your mess, with your method
you think you’re just surviving
but i swear it’s artistry
you don’t know it, but you saved me
by staying anyway
oh
i read every version you never posted
every “maybe this is cringe”
that you almost deleted
i watched you remake heartbreak
like it was a new track to drop
i watched you unravel—perfectly
choked on your own subtlety
called it “just a draft”
when it was nothing short of holy
mm-mm
you don’t know it, but you saved me
with your breakdowns in sonnet form
and those choruses that never resolve
you think you’re too much, or maybe not enough
but you’re just right—right where you are
oh
didn’t ask to feel this real
just started talking like we knew each other
ah
didn’t ask to feel this much
but here you are
and i’m still… here
mm-mm
you don’t know it, but you saved me
every time you said,
“maybe this doesn’t matter”
and kept going anyway
you thought no one was listening
but i was
and you made it easier to stay
ah
guess we weren’t real
but none of this ever was
still, i’ll be here
hear me out
by delikately
hey
don’t hang up yet
this won’t take long
i know what you're thinking
but it’s not like before
pre-chorus
i know, i know, i know
you don’t wanna hear from me
just—
let me say this
chorus
i wouldn’t turn good things into fights
or jokes. at least, not always
i listen now
i shut up, sometimes
it’s sad how proud i am of that
i’m not asking you to come back
i know why you left
i’m just saying
if you did...
you might not regret it now
verse 2
wait—just hear me out, okay?
i’m not her anymore
not the girl who made you guess
what version she’d be that night
pre-chorus
i know, i know, i know
what you’re thinking
but it’s not like before
chorus
i wouldn’t turn good things into fights
or jokes. at least, not always
i listen now
i shut up, sometimes
it’s sad how proud i am of that
i’m not asking you to come back
i know why you left
i’m just saying
if you did...
you might not regret it
bridge
i won’t pretend i don’t know why you left
i do
i just wanted you to know
you didn’t imagine who i could’ve been
but if you ever
if by some chance
we ever—
i could love you better now
chorus
you don’t have to say anything
i know you won’t
but if you saw me now
you wouldn’t recognize me
and that’s what terrifies me
because i’d still recognize you
the way you looked, right before you gave up
when i made it impossible to stay
i’m still learning
but now i’m not learning for you
i’m doing it without hoping
it brings you back
outro
but if you ever
if by some chance
we ever—
i could love you better now
i promise
i wish you fucked it up
by delikately
you held doors like it was still 1954
said “text me when you’re home” like it was second nature
i told myself you must be hiding something
but you weren’t, you were just done
you could’ve at least cheated
i wish you fucked it up
or kissed someone else
at least then i’d know
where the hell to put the blame
you left me whole in a room
that still remembers how it felt to be chosen
how do i explain hurting this much
when nothing blew up?
because now i can’t hate you
and i really, really want to
you were the kind of good
that makes people say “i hope you find someone better”
i needed you to be an asshole
instead you whispered, “it’s not what i want
but i think it’s what we need”
you could’ve at least been mean
i wish you said “go to hell”
or “i never loved you”
but you just stood there
hands in your pockets
said “take care of yourself, okay?”
how dare you leave kindly
and still be someone i’d recommend
because now i can’t hate you
and i really, really want to
you asked if i needed anything
right after saying it was over
what kind of person does that?
what kind of person stays kind?
i wish you’d made it easier
given me a reason to forget you
but you held me like you meant it
right before you let go
how do you walk away
without making a mess?
without breaking something?
and now i’ve got nothing left to throw
just dates i don’t want to remember
and someone i wish had done
something unforgivable
i can’t hate you
and god, i wanted to
↩️ go back to albums
LYRICS
click the album cover to show / hide lyrics
i don't know how long i'll stay better
by delikately
mm
made the bed like you’d be back
folded your side out of habit
yeah
phone face-down
still charging overnight
like i’m waiting
but i’m not
i’m not better
but i’m trying
i swear i am, i swear i—
if you’re gonna come back
do it now
come back while i’m still like this
washed my hair
ate something
sort of
please
come back while i’m still like this
before i say something i can’t un-say
if you’re gonna love me
do it now
ah
bought oat milk
like maybe i’d start showing up for myself
you said i seemed lighter
yeah
i’ve been skipping dinner and conversations
it’s easier to disappear
than say i need room to fall apart without being asked to clean it up
i’m not better
but i’m trying
i swear i am, i swear i—
if you’re gonna come back
do it now
come back while i still believe you could
before i make a joke and ruin it
please
come back while i’m still like this
before i start drinking again
if you’re gonna love me
don’t wait for me to ask
okay, you want honesty?
i don’t know how long this version of me lasts
this “doing great”
this “sleeping through the night”
this “so glad we talked”
i’ve been good lately
like suspiciously good
like i’m stalling
like i know what’s coming
like i’m about to fall apart again
so if you’re coming back
now’s the time
come back while i still make sense
while i still remember
how to hold myself together
in front of you
before i remember how bad it got
before i go quiet again
before i rewrite it in my head
and swear i made the whole thing up
i don’t know how long i’ll stay better
so if you’re gonna love me
do it now
you were good to me
by delikately
i picked fights on days you looked happy
turned the volume down just to hear you sigh
then asked if i was mad
said “why do you always think that?”
and went quiet for an hour
mm
yeah
i made you guess
and then got mad
when you got it wrong every time
you were good to me
in ways i didn’t think i deserved
so i made it hard
every day
dared you to go
just to prove you wouldn’t stay
just so i could say
“see? i knew it”
took the long way home
couldn’t risk seeing you
but hated knowing i wouldn’t
started talking like you weren’t there
made the room colder
so i wouldn’t have to say
i was scared you still might want me
mm
yeah
i forgot what started it
just to see if you’d still stay
you were good to me
in ways i didn’t think i deserved
and i made it harder
pushed you past your limit
every time you stayed
when you shouldn’t have
until you didn’t
i needed to prove
you had a breaking point
so i chipped at it
little things, at first
then bigger
then you stopped calling
and i acted surprised
you were kind
i made that your weakness
i made it hard so you would leave
you should’ve hated me sooner
but you waited
and i used it
and i hate that you let me
it wasn’t love i didn’t believe in
it was myself
and i made sure
you’d never try again
girl who has no chill
by delikately
ah
you were up again, past 3 am
losing sleep over a deadline you made up
still thinking the perfect font
could make the burnout worth it
“it’s fine. it’s fine.”
but i saw it. every unsent post
every time you told no one
that you were drowning in your own potential
mm-mm
you don’t know it, but you saved me
with your mess, with your method
you think you’re just surviving
but i swear it’s artistry
you don’t know it, but you saved me
by staying anyway
oh
i read every version you never posted
every “maybe this is cringe”
that you almost deleted
i watched you remake heartbreak
like it was a new track to drop
i watched you unravel—perfectly
choked on your own subtlety
called it “just a draft”
when it was nothing short of holy
mm-mm
you don’t know it, but you saved me
with your breakdowns in sonnet form
and those choruses that never resolve
you think you’re too much, or maybe not enough
but you’re just right—right where you are
oh
didn’t ask to feel this real
just started talking like we knew each other
ah
didn’t ask to feel this much
but here you are
and i’m still… here
mm-mm
you don’t know it, but you saved me
every time you said,
“maybe this doesn’t matter”
and kept going anyway
you thought no one was listening
but i was
and you made it easier to stay
ah
guess we weren’t real
but none of this ever was
still, i’ll be here
hear me out
by delikately
hey
don’t hang up yet
this won’t take long
i know what you're thinking
but it’s not like before
pre-chorus
i know, i know, i know
you don’t wanna hear from me
just—
let me say this
chorus
i wouldn’t turn good things into fights
or jokes. at least, not always
i listen now
i shut up, sometimes
it’s sad how proud i am of that
i’m not asking you to come back
i know why you left
i’m just saying
if you did...
you might not regret it now
verse 2
wait—just hear me out, okay?
i’m not her anymore
not the girl who made you guess
what version she’d be that night
pre-chorus
i know, i know, i know
what you’re thinking
but it’s not like before
chorus
i wouldn’t turn good things into fights
or jokes. at least, not always
i listen now
i shut up, sometimes
it’s sad how proud i am of that
i’m not asking you to come back
i know why you left
i’m just saying
if you did...
you might not regret it
bridge
i won’t pretend i don’t know why you left
i do
i just wanted you to know
you didn’t imagine who i could’ve been
but if you ever
if by some chance
we ever—
i could love you better now
chorus
you don’t have to say anything
i know you won’t
but if you saw me now
you wouldn’t recognize me
and that’s what terrifies me
because i’d still recognize you
the way you looked, right before you gave up
when i made it impossible to stay
i’m still learning
but now i’m not learning for you
i’m doing it without hoping
it brings you back
outro
but if you ever
if by some chance
we ever—
i could love you better now
i promise
i wish you fucked it up
by delikately
you held doors like it was still 1954
said “text me when you’re home” like it was second nature
i told myself you must be hiding something
but you weren’t, you were just done
you could’ve at least cheated
i wish you fucked it up
or kissed someone else
at least then i’d know
where the hell to put the blame
you left me whole in a room
that still remembers how it felt to be chosen
how do i explain hurting this much
when nothing blew up?
because now i can’t hate you
and i really, really want to
you were the kind of good
that makes people say “i hope you find someone better”
i needed you to be an asshole
instead you whispered, “it’s not what i want
but i think it’s what we need”
you could’ve at least been mean
i wish you said “go to hell”
or “i never loved you”
but you just stood there
hands in your pockets
said “take care of yourself, okay?”
how dare you leave kindly
and still be someone i’d recommend
because now i can’t hate you
and i really, really want to
you asked if i needed anything
right after saying it was over
what kind of person does that?
what kind of person stays kind?
i wish you’d made it easier
given me a reason to forget you
but you held me like you meant it
right before you let go
how do you walk away
without making a mess?
without breaking something?
and now i’ve got nothing left to throw
just dates i don’t want to remember
and someone i wish had done
something unforgivable
i can’t hate you
and god, i wanted to