IF I COULD TELL YOU

[Verse 1]
**IF I COULD TELL YOU**

[Verse 2]
**[Verse 1]**
I've memorized the way you smile
When you're trying not to laugh,
And every little thing you do
That you probably forget.

[Verse 3]
You say my name so easily,
Like it doesn't shake my chest.
And I pretend you're just a friend,
'Cause that's the lie I know the best.

[Verse 4]
Some nights I barely recognize
The person in the mirror anymore.
Then I see your name light up my phone,
And suddenly I'm not as lost as before.

[Verse 5]
**[Pre-Chorus]**
I've written "I love you" a thousand times,
Then watched the cursor blink until I changed my mind.

[Chorus]
**[Chorus]**
If I could tell you,
I'd tell you I fell slowly, then all at once.
That every time you hold me close,
I wish you'd never let me go.

[Verse 6]
I'd tell you when my world goes quiet
And my mind won't let me rest,
You're the thought I hold onto
When everything hurts inside my chest.

[Verse 7]
But what if I say, "I love you,"
And you don't look at me the same?
I'd rather hurt beside you
Than confess and watch you walk away.

[Verse 8]
So I'll keep three words behind my teeth,
Even though they're killing me.

[Verse 9]
**[Verse 2]**
Sometimes you talk about forever,
And I wonder who's beside you there.
I smile and say, "You'll find somebody,"
While wishing I could tell you that I care.

[Verse 10]
And God, I hate how much I want you,
Because wanting you feels safe
Until I imagine someone else
Getting everything I'm too afraid to say.

[Verse 11]
Maybe they'll hold your hand someday,
Maybe you'll look at them the way
I've spent every lonely night
Wishing you would look at me.

[Verse 12]
**[Pre-Chorus]**
So I type, "Can I tell you something?"
Then erase it before I send.
Because loving you in silence
Means I never have to lose my friend.

[Chorus]
**[Chorus]**
If I could tell you,
I'd tell you I fell slowly, then all at once.
That every time you hold me close,
I wish you'd never let me go.

[Verse 13]
I'd tell you when my world goes quiet
And I feel myself disappear,
Your voice is somehow the one thing
That makes me want to stay right here.

[Verse 14]
But what if I say, "I love you,"
And that's where everything ends?
What if I lose the person
Who makes me feel alive again?

[Verse 15]
So I'll keep three words behind my teeth,
Even though they're breaking me.

[Verse 16]
**[Bridge]**
And if someday you fall in love
With somebody who isn't me,
I'll smile when you tell me about them
And become everything you need me to be.

[Verse 17]
I'll say, "I'm happy for you."
I'll swear that I'll be fine.
Then I'll go home and finally cry
For the love that was never mine.

[Verse 18]
Because you can't lose someone
You never really had.
But somehow loving you in silence
Still hurts just as bad.

[Verse 19]
**[Final Chorus]**
If I could tell you,
I'd tell you you're the safest place I've never known.
That somehow when I'm next to you,
This broken world almost feels like home.

[Verse 20]
I'd tell you I don't need you
To rescue me from every storm.
I just wish that when the rain comes down,
I could be the one inside your arms.

[Verse 21]
And maybe one day I'll say, "I love you,"
Before my courage disappears.
Maybe you'll pull me closer.
Maybe you'll confirm my fears.

[Verse 22]
But tonight I'll sit beside you
Like my heart isn't screaming your name,
And love you quietly from inches away...

[Verse 23]
Because having half of you beside me
Still feels better
Than having none of you someday.

[Verse 24]
**[Outro]**
So if you ever wonder
Why I look at you that way...

[Verse 25]
It's everything
I never had the courage
To say.