Hard to love

INTRO — soft, intimate, reflective

They called me hard to love…

Funny.

I used to give everything away
Just to feel like somebody chose me.

Now I know better.

[VERSE 1 — smooth, rhythmic, conversational]

I used to answer every late-night call
Even when you gave me nothing at all
Used to make your bad days mine
While you barely made room for mine

I could've stayed, I could've waited
Made excuses till I hated
The girl I saw in the mirror
'Cause I kept disappearing just to keep you near me

You said I changed when I started saying no
Said I got difficult when I stopped letting things go
But I didn't build these walls for fun
I just learned what happens when you love someone
Who doesn't know what they've got

[PRE-CHORUS — building, emotional but confident]

Maybe I got a little wiser
Maybe pain became my teacher
Maybe all those tears showed me
What I should've seen before

I didn't lose my heart
I just stopped giving it away
And if that makes me difficult
Baby, that's okay

CHORUS — big, melodic, confident

I'm not hard to love
You just loved me wrong
I was giving you my whole heart
You were giving me half your own

I'm not hard to hold
I just won't hold on
To somebody who only wants me
When they feel me moving on

I'm not cold, I'm careful
I'm not distant, I'm aware
I learned to read the difference
Between somebody wanting me
And somebody really being there

So if I seem harder now
Baby, that's because I grew
I'm not hard to love…

I just got smarter loving you

POST-CHORUS — catchy, rhythmic, playful

Got smarter
Got wiser
Got a little better at
Knowing what I deserve

Got smarter
Got wiser
Pain taught me something
I won't forget

[VERSE 2 — more attitude, playful confidence]

Now you see me taking my time
And suddenly I'm “hard to find”
You used to have me on demand
Now you gotta make an actual plan

You'd get jealous when somebody looked
But never gave me what it took
Wanted me all to yourself
While treating my heart like something on a shelf

Now somebody says my name
And you act like I'm the one to blame
But where was all that energy
When I was begging you to give me
The love you said you had for me?

I don't need to make you jealous
I don't need another man
I'm just finally understanding
I deserve somebody who understands

That pretty words don't mean a thing
If your actions don't agree
And butterflies don't mean forever
If you can't give me consistency

PRE-CHORUS 2 — stronger, more melodic

Maybe I got a little wiser
Maybe pain became my teacher
Every time my heart broke
I got closer to myself

Now I know what love looks like
And what it shouldn't feel like
I don't need somebody perfect
I just need somebody real

CHORUS — bigger, layered

I'm not hard to love
You just loved me wrong
I was giving you my whole heart
You were giving me half your own

I'm not hard to hold
I just won't hold on
To somebody who only wants me
When they feel me moving on

I'm not cold, I'm careful
I'm not distant, I'm aware
I learned to read the difference
Between somebody wanting me
And somebody really being there

So if I seem harder now
Baby, that's because I grew
I'm not hard to love…

I just got smarter loving you

BRIDGE — stripped down, vulnerable

Pain didn't make me bitter
It just made me pay attention

To the little things I used to overlook
The empty promises
The almosts
The “maybe next time”

I still love deeply
I still give completely
I still got that soft girl somewhere inside me