Shoulda Done Better

Shoulda Done Better
© 2026 Mitchell Scott — All rights reserved.

Lyrics

I stayed in the shallow end
Called it keepin’ things light
Never let it get serious
Never stayed past the night
If it wasn’t about me
I didn’t see it too clear
I figured my time mattered more
Than the hearts that were here

I could’ve done better by some of you
That truth don’t need defending
I was young, I was selfish, I was sure
And I didn’t know what I was ending

I was ten years old, thought I knew enough
Didn’t try, didn’t want to learn
Thought love was somethin’ you get
Not somethin’ you earn
That way of thinkin’ stuck around
I wore it like a coat
Kept everythin’ easy
So I’d never feel the weight of it all

I could’ve done better by some of you
That truth don’t need defending
I was young, I was selfish, I was sure
And I didn’t know what I was ending

I let you go without a fight
Called it doin’ you right
Truth is I didn’t have the nerve
To stay another night
You were askin’ for my time
I held it tight as gold
I should’ve tried to keep you near
Instead I let you go

There was more than one of you
Different towns, same mistake
Every time it asked for more
I found another road to take
You deserved a steadier hand
Than the one I gave back then
I was busy bein’ sure of myself
Instead of bein’ someone you could depend

Turns out love ain’t fast or loud
It’s showin’ up when it ain’t easy
Turns out time’s the one thing
You don’t get to call just yours
I learned it late, but I learned it hard
Some lessons leave a mark
And I finally see the cost
Of treatin’ hearts like they were optional

I could’ve done better by some of you
I won’t say I didn’t know
I just wasn’t willin’ to give the time
I was too scared to owe

I don’t replay it like a movie
Don’t drown it out in shame
It just comes back every now and then
When I hear a certain name
Not to reopen what’s long gone
Just to tell the truth somehow
I should’ve been more than I was
And I know that now

Your time was worth more than mine