When a romantic relationship ends, you don’t go back to being the person you were before the relationship started. That has been my recent experience, anyway. My relationship with my now-ex was a big deal for me, because it was the first one I’d had after 8 years of being single. It was amazing to me how much I needed to learn not only about how to be in a relationship period, but about myself and what kind of person I was.
So I wrote a song about that. Lyrics, as always, are below the fold.
Lyrics:
I know that it’s time to leave the past behind,
But to pretend like she never happened; are you out of your mind?
When we parted ways, a part of her stayed:
The things that she taught me.
I’ll never be the same.
And I don’t wish she was here,
But I still remember all the things she said
And I know I’ll never forget her,
But I like her better as a voice in my head.
Now I won’t pretend that I was born better than other men,
And I don’t think you could have loved who I was back then.
She’s not around to see the peace we’ve found.
But still her voice speaks from my memory.
Can you hear the sound?
I’m so glad she’s not in my life,
But I don’t wish that we never did
And I know I’ll never forget her,
But I like her better as a voice in my head.
And it’s easy for me to say that what we had wasn’t perfect,
But believe me when I say after all this time: I still think it was worth it.
I’ve been thinking it over, and I think I’ve found something that’s true:
Once I got over the loss and the pain I realized that it had made me someone who’s ready for someone like you.
So don’t cry, she’s not worth your tears.
And I’ll try to make you understand why I’m with you instead,
And I know I’ll never forget her,
But I like her better as a voice in my head.
A couple of production tidbits. This song took a long time to record, because I don’t actually know how to play the piano. I had to teach myself by rote trial and error. It was fun, but it took weeks to put together a piano part that didn’t stray from the beat (and had all the notes in the right places – the bridge took absurdly long to get right). I also spent a day and a half trying to get the vocal part right before throwing it all out and nailing it in two takes after I got home from work on Monday.
Also it should be said that this song is loosely based on my feelings about my ex. It’s really intended to be a story told from the perspective of someone in that situation. I don’t really have anything negative to say about my ex, or the fact that our relationship had run its course. She’s (probably) happier now that it’s over. I’m moving on as well. We were smart enough not to let things drag on until they were unbearable. But again, this song isn’t really about her.
Crommunist 
I know that this song was written from the perspective of a breakup, but I think it can also work as an aspirational song for someone recovering from the unexpected, and mutually unwanted, truncation of a relationship. The first, third, and fifth verses already fit very well to the contours of that kind of grief; one day, I hope I can reach a place where the rest of the song will fit me, as well. Thank you for sharing it.