[Verse 1]
Backstage with a pantomime crown, paint on my hands, I owned that town,
Spotlight freckles on my cheek, everyone turned when I’d speak.
Charisma like a whispered song, spiritual words where I belong,
Walkman playing our old tune, your shy smile under the moon.
Yearbook scribbles, locker light, older boyfriends through the night,
I wore silk and sequins, laughed with all, artistic heartbeat, standing tall.
But you sat quiet at the back of class, a folded letter, a photograph,
You liked me all those secret ways I didn’t see until later days.
[Pre‑Chorus]
You were a glance I learned to hold at arm’s length in crowded halls,
You left your jacket on my chair, then left me with a thousand calls.
I kept forgiving, kept the peace while you kept ghosting me to sleep,
There was something electrical that hummed beneath the sheets.
[Chorus]
Stuart — you loved me then, a kiss on the shore, then you were gone,
Stuart — you loved me then, you left my name in ash and dawn.
Stuart — you loved me then, tides would take you out and never stay,
Stuart — you loved me then, you came like weather, then you walked away.
[Verse 2]
I came back from the city with a child’s small suitcase in my hand,
Left a ten‑year love in alleys made of promises and sand.
We met again where the gulls knew your face, you in a fisherman’s coat,
You said you’d always fancied me, that you carried me like a note.
You’d bloomed late by coastal fires, first love wrapped in older wires,
Bullied by a father’s fist, commitment’s shadow in your kiss.
You’d vanish nights without replies, leave me in dodgy doorways dry,
We slept sometimes like ghosts of school, I stopped—respect was my reply.
[Pre‑Chorus]
You say I changed you, that I made you see, you’re different and you swear to me,
But messages unread, excuses thin, and I’m the woman mending him.
You come and stay to talk and drink, you give a kiss, then never think
About the leaving or the cost — I count the ways I almost lost.
[Chorus]
Stuart — you loved me then, a kiss on the shore, then you were gone,
Stuart — you loved me then, you left my name in ash and dawn.
Stuart — you loved me then, tides would take you out and never stay,
Stuart — you loved me then, you came like weather, then you walked away.
[Bridge]
I closed that door, I kept my skin intact, I won’t be the harbour for your cracked and patchy craft.
No more sleeping to be used, no more being tidy in your bruise — I choose my path.
I’ll burn the cassette of ‘could’ve been,’ trade your fisherman coat for a flame within,
I’ll teach my heart to hold its ground — not every knock is worth the letting in.
[Chorus — Reprise]
Stuart — you loved me then, a kiss on the shore, then you were gone,
Stuart — you loved me then, you left my name in ash and dawn.
Stuart — you loved me then, but I won’t wait for tides that never stay,
Stuart — you loved me then, I keep my light and walk away.
[Outro]
Neon station, yearbook falls, paint on my hands and tender scrawl,
I hum our so
