RED FLAGS LOOKED LIKE ROSES

Lyrics

[Verse 1] You always knew the words That made your damage sound like love, Turned every slammed door into Something I was guilty of. Your apologies were matches— They burned bright, then disappeared, And I kept warming both my hands On everything I feared. [Pre-Chorus] I saw the warning in your eyes, But I believed your alibis. Every time my heart said “run,” You made me think that I was wrong. [Chorus] Those red flags looked like roses When I held them in my hands. Every thorn became a promise I was trying to understand. I called jealousy devotion, Called your chains a warm embrace— But love should never leave you Scared to breathe or know your place. Those red flags looked like roses, Till the blood belonged to me— Now I’m walking out your doorway, And I’m finally walking free. [Verse 2] I learned to read the weather By the way you turned the key, How your silence filled the hallway Before you blamed it all on me. I kept shrinking in the mirror, Trying not to take up space, Till I barely knew the person Looking back behind my face. [Pre-Chorus] You said nobody else would stay, Like loneliness should make me stay. But being alone can’t hurt as much As disappearing for your love. [Chorus] Those red flags looked like roses When I held them in my hands. Every thorn became a promise I was trying to understand. I called jealousy devotion, Called your chains a warm embrace— But love should never leave you Scared to breathe or know your place. Those red flags looked like roses, Till the blood belonged to me— Now I’m walking out your doorway, And I’m finally walking free. [Bridge] You’ll say I’m cold for leaving. You’ll cry and beg me not to go. You’ll become the one I needed— But only long enough to close That door around me one more time And turn my daylight back to night. So save the words that worked before— They don’t live here anymore. [Final Chorus] Those red flags weren’t ever roses— I just needed them to be. I was loving your potential While you took the best of me. I called surviving “being faithful,” Called forgiveness “one more chance,” But I won’t keep bleeding for someone Who won’t wash it from their hands. Leave your red flags in the doorway; I don’t need them anymore. You can keep the life you gave me— I’m the one walking out the door. [Outro] The hallway never felt so quiet, The morning never looked so clear. I thought leaving meant I’d lost you— But I found myself out here.