Lyrics

[Intro — spoken, hesitant]
Are you busy?
...
No, forget it.
It’s nothing.
[Verse 1]
I know how to carry
what weighs too much.
I know how to work
with a shaking hand.
I know how to stand there
when everything goes wrong.
But I don’t know
how to say I can’t stand.
I can say,
“Can you help me move this?”
I can say,
“Can you give me a ride?”
I can ask for anything
that doesn’t sound like weakness.
Just not what’s happening inside.
[Pre-Chorus]
So I start with:
“Are you awake?”
Then delete it.
Start with:
“Can we talk?”
Then leave it.
There are five simple words
I never learned to use.
[Chorus]
I don’t know how to ask.
I know how to disappear.
I know how to say,
“Don’t worry,”
when I need somebody here.
I don’t know how to ask.
The words get heavy in my mouth.
So I keep saying,
“It’s nothing.”
And hope somebody figures it out.
[Verse 2]
I rehearse it in the car,
in the shower,
at three in the morning.
Every version sounds stupid
when the daylight comes.
“Things have been rough.”
No.
“I’m not doing great.”
No.
“Can you stay?”
...
That one hurts.
So I turn it into humor.
Turn it into silence.
Turn it into something
that doesn’t require an answer.
Then I get angry
when nobody answers.
[Pre-Chorus]
I type:
“Got a minute?”
Erase it.
Type:
“Never mind.”
Send it.
That’s how close I get.
[Chorus]
I don’t know how to ask.
I know how to disappear.
I know how to say,
“Don’t worry,”
when I need somebody here.
I don’t know how to ask.
The words get heavy in my mouth.
So I keep saying,
“It’s nothing.”
And hope somebody figures it out.
[Bridge — stripped, almost spoken]
Maybe help
isn’t supposed to be earned.
Maybe I don’t need
a good enough reason.
Maybe I don’t have to collapse
before I’m allowed
to say—
...
I need someone.
...
God.
Even that sounds strange.
[Break — spoken]
“Do you need help?”
...
I don’t know.
...
Yes.
...
I think so.
[Final Chorus]
I don’t know how to ask.
But I’m trying not to run.
I don’t know how to ask.
So this might be the closest one.
Don’t fix me.
Don’t explain.
Don’t tell me
what I should become.
Just sit here.
Stay a while.
Until the words finally come.
[Outro — whispered]
Are you busy?
...
Can you stay?