While They Are Here

Verse 1

I used to slam the locker shut

Roll my eyes and call it dumb

Another day, another face

Another war I thought I’d won

Didn’t know the quiet kid

Fought battles in his room at night

Didn’t know the girl who smiled

Was barely hanging onto life

And that loudmouth in the hallway

The one everybody hates?

Maybe anger was the only thing

That helped him numb the weight

We walk around like time’s a joke

Like everybody stays

But life can steal a heartbeat

Before you even say—

Pre-Chorus

“Hey, you good?”

“You need a friend?”

“Wanna sit with me instead?”

Tiny words we never say

Till we’re crying at the end

Chorus

So hold your people closer tonight

Even the ones you don’t understand

Even the ones who broke your heart

Or never learned how to hold your hand

Cause one call, one wreck, one moment gone

One sunset you’ll never get back

And suddenly all the petty little fights

Feel smaller than the cracks

Tell your mom you love her

Text your friend you miss their laugh

Forgive somebody if you can

Cause forever moves too fast

And even bullies got bruised hearts

Hidden underneath their rage

Everybody’s fighting something

On this short and fragile stage

Verse 2

I remember all the stupid things

The names we threw around

Like being cruel was confidence

Like pain made us feel proud

But years go by like speeding trains

Faces fade like smoke

And sometimes the ones we laughed at most

Are the ones we miss the most

Cause nobody tells you growing up

How haunting silence gets

How empty rooms can swallow you

With all your old regrets

You start replaying memories

Like songs you can’t turn off

Thinking “God, I should’ve been more kind”

When grief is all you’ve got

Pre-Chorus

Cause no one ever plans goodbye

Nobody sees the end

Sometimes the last words that you say

Aren’t words you’d say again

Chorus

So hold your people closer tonight

Even the ones who act so cold

Sometimes pain turns hearts to stone

Sometimes hurt makes monsters grow old

And one day you’ll wish for one more fight

One more dumb annoying call

Just one more chance to hear their voice

Echoing through the hall

Tell your dad that you forgive him

Tell your brother he matters too

Tell your online friend you care

Even if they act uncool

Cause every soul’s a temporary light

Burning bright then fading away

And love means seeing someone’s pain

Without turning your face away

Bridge

Maybe the bully hates himself

Maybe the “mean girl” cries alone

Maybe the class clown hides his scars

Behind every joke he’s thrown

And maybe kindness feels awkward

Maybe mercy feels unfair

But this world has got enough hate already

What it needs is someone who cares

Not perfect people

Not saints in white

Just humans trying

To survive the night

And if tomorrow never comes

Would your last words bring peace?

Or would you drown inside the guilt

Of love you didn’t release?

(Soft Breakdown)

So say the thing

Send the text

Give the hug

Make amends

Cause life doesn’t pause

When your heart’s not ready

And loss doesn’t care

Who was right in the ending

(Final Chorus)

So cherish your people while they are here

The loud, the quiet, the strange

The broken souls with crooked smiles

The ones still trying to change

Cause one day the chair’ll sit empty

One day the group chat goes still

One day you’ll hear an old voice in your head

And your chest just suddenly will…

Ache.

For every moment you wasted

For every chance you let die

For every “later” that never came

For every unfinished goodbye

So love them messy

Love them now

Love them before the world takes them out

Cause in a single moment

Everything can disappear

And the people you thought would always exist

Can become

A memory

You’d give anything to hear.