Selective Playback

I keep rewinding the parts that flatter me

I frame the hallway like it's a magazine
Crop out the dishes, crop out the arguing
The laugh track hits when I need a dopamine
Like we were better just 'cause we were younger, see

You in that thrift coat, elbow on the window
Me acting easy, you acting nothing's wrong
Funny how my head plays only the warm notes
Cuts out the cold ones like they're not part of the song

If I'm honest, I don't miss the panic
I miss the version of me that didn't scan it
For every shift in your tone like it was static

I got selective playback, only the highlights
Only the angles where we look alright
But the full tape's heavy, it tells the real life
So why do I swear it was perfect back then?
Selective playback, I'm looping the good parts
Calling it gold like it didn't leave marks
If it was heaven, why'd I beg for a restart?
Maybe I miss what I wanted, not what we had

I scroll old threads like they're souvenirs
Ignore the gaps where you disappeared
I can't admit how the silence felt engineered
How I practiced calm while my chest stayed wired

Now I pass our café, same chair by the door
Different couple laughing at an inside joke
My brain tries dressing the past in couture
But I remember the nights when you wouldn't come close

I don't miss the tension in the kitchen
I miss believing love was simple enough to fit in
One little photo, one little caption

I got selective playback, only the highlights
Only the angles where we look alright
But the full tape's heavy, it tells the real life
So why do I swear it was perfect back then?
Selective playback, I'm looping the good parts
Calling it gold like it didn't leave marks
If it was heaven, why'd I beg for a restart?
Maybe I miss what I wanted, not what we had

I'm not a liar, I'm just a curator
I stack the sweet stuff to quiet the later
Truth is: We loved, and we failed in plain daylight
Two things can live in the same sentence, it's fine

I got selective playback, only the highlights
Only the angles where we look alright
But the full tape's heavy, it tells the real life
So why do I swear it was perfect back then?
Selective playback, I'm looping the good parts
Calling it gold like it didn't leave marks
If it was heaven, why'd I beg for a restart?
Maybe I miss what I wanted, not what we had

Maybe I miss what I wanted, not what we had