(Hey, hey, hey)
Opening sound

People like you always want back the love they gave away
Some people want back what they lost in the past

And people like me wanna believe you when you say you've changed
Some people are willing to forgive and give a second chance

The more I think about it now, the less I know
The more one thinks about a situation, the more confusing it becomes

All I know is that you drove us off the road
All that is certain is that the relationship was ruined

(Stay) hey, all you had to do was stay
The person simply had to stay to save the relationship

Had me in the palm of your hand then
The person had control over the situation

Why'd you have to go and lock me out when I let you in?
Why did you push me away when I allowed you in my life?

(Stay) hey, now you say you want it back
You want another chance at the relationship

Now that it's just too late
It is too late for a fresh start

Well could've been easy
It was an easy fix

All you had to do was (stay)
All that was necessary to fix the issue was for the person to stay

Here you are now, callin' me up, but I don't know what to say
The person is trying to reconnect, but the other person is unsure how to proceed

I've been pickin' up the pieces of the mess you made
The aftermath of the situation has been difficult to deal with

People like you always want back the love they pushed aside
The person who left may suddenly want what they no longer have

But people like me are gone forever when you say goodbye
Once someone leaves, they might never come back, even if the other person is willing to forgive

(Stay) hey, all you had to do was stay
The plea to the person to stay is repeated

Let me remind you, this was what you wanted (oh, oh, oh)
It is a reminder that the person left on their own volition

You ended it
The other person terminated the relationship

You were all I wanted (oh, oh, oh)
Despite the situation, the other person was still deeply cared for

But not like this
The current circumstances were not what was wanted

Oh, all you had to do was
The solution to the problem was simple

All you had to do was (stay)
The solution was to stay

Hey, all you had to do was stay
Another repetition of the plea to stay

All you had to do was (stay)
The solution was still to stay

All you had to do was (stay) (oh)
The repetition of the solution to stay is emphasized

All you had to do was (stay)
The song concludes with the reminder that all that was needed to save the relationship was for the person to stay