paper hearts

[Verse 1]
I’m sixteen with a heart too old for my age
Writing your name in the dust on my dashboard page
You don’t call, but I still wait by the phone
Guess loyalty’s heavy when you’re carrying it alone

[Pre-Chorus]
Mama says, “Baby, don’t you waste your tears
On a boy who don’t know what you’re worth after all these years”
But what if he’s the only one I’m meant to find?
What if love like this don’t come around twice in a lifetime?

[Chorus]
So I’m stuck between letting go and holding on tight
Between midnight prayers and porch light nights
Do I chase a maybe or call it quits?
Trade this one-sided love for a heart that fits?
I’m just a girl with paper hearts and pickup truck dreams
Trying to figure out what loving someone really means

[Verse 2]
I walk past you just to catch your eye
But you’re laughing with the boys, walking right by
I tell myself I’m waiting for the day you’ll see
That I’m the only one who’s truly meant to be
But what if I’m just practicing for a role that ain’t real?
Scared that if I stop waiting, I’ll never know how to feel

[Pre-Chorus]
Friends say, “He ain’t worth the ache in your chest”
But what if walking away means I fail the test?
What if real love means sticking through the pain?
Even when it feels like pouring love down the drain

[Chorus]
‘Cause I’m stuck between letting go and holding on tight
Between midnight prayers and porch light nights
Do I chase a maybe or call it quits?
Trade this one-sided love for a heart that fits?
I’m just a girl with paper hearts and pickup truck dreams
Trying to figure out what loving someone really means

[Bridge]
Maybe someday I’ll look back and laugh through the tears
At the girl who gave her all to a ghost for years
But tonight I’m sixteen, and my heart’s on the line
Between holding on to nothing… and letting go of mine

[Final Chorus]
Yeah, I’m torn between letting go and holding on tight
Between “you’ll be fine” and “what if he’s right?”
Do I trust the silence or follow my gut?
Leave this empty love or keep believing in us?
I’m just a girl with paper hearts and pickup truck dreams
Learning that love’s not always what it seems

[Outro – soft, fading]
So I’ll fold up this heart, put it under my bed
And hope the next one don’t leave me for dead
‘Cause even paper hearts can learn how to fly
When they stop trying to love a goodbye

Bluegrass, Country, Introspective, Melancholic, Female Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Fiddle, Steel Guitar, Drums, Banjo, Bass, Moderate (76-108 BPM)