Taylor Swift – All You Had To Do Was Stay

(Hey hey hey)
(Hey hey hey)
(Hey hey hey)
(Hey hey hey)
People like you always want back the love they gave away
And people like me wanna believe you when you say you've changed
The more I think about it now the less I know
All I know is that you drove us off the road

Stay, hey, all you had to do was stay
Had me in the palm of your hand
Then, why'd you had to go and lock me out when I let you in
Stay, hey, now you say you want it
Back now that it's just too late
Well could've been easy
All you had to do was stay

All you had to do was stay
All you had to do was stay
All you had to do was stay
All you had to do was stay

Here you are now, calling me up, but I don't know what to say
I've been picking up the pieces of the mess you made
People like you always want back the love they pushed aside
But people like me are gone forever when you say goodbye

Stay, hey, all you had to do was stay
Had me in the palm of your hand
Then, why'd you had to go and lock me out when I let you in
Stay, hey, now you say you want it
Back now that it's just too late
Well could've been easy
All you had to do was stay

All you had to do was stay
All you had to do was stay
All you had to do was stay (stay, stay, stay)

Let me remind you this was what you wanted (oh oh oh)
You ended it
You were all I wanted (oh oh oh)
But not like this
Not like this
Not like this
Oh, all you had to do was stay

Hey, all you had to do was stay
Had me in the palm of your hand
Then, why'd you had to go and lock me out when I let you in
Stay, hey, now you say you want it
Back now that it's just too late
Well could've been easy
All you had to do was stay

Hey, all you had to do was stay
Had me in the palm of your hand
Then, why'd you had to go and lock me out when I let you in
Stay, hey, now you say you want it
Back now that it's just too late
Well could've been easy (all you had to do was stay)
All you had to do was stay

All you had to do was stay (oh)
All you had to do was stay
All you had to do was stay
All you had to do was stay (ooh)


Lyrics submitted by iholdher

"All You Had To Do Was Stay" as written by Taylor Alison Swift Martin Max

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

All You Had To Do Was Stay song meanings
Add your thoughts

5 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +2
    Song FactThis is how Taylor explained the creation of the song in her interview with The Times:

    There’s a song on my album called “All You Had to Do Was Stay.” I was having this dream, that was actually one of those embarrassing dreams, where you’re mortified in the dream, you’re like humiliated. In the dream, my ex had come to the door to beg for me to talk to him or whatever, and I opened up the door and I went to go say, “Hi,” or “What are you doing here?” or something—something normal—but all that came out was this high-pitched singing that said, “Stay!” It was almost operatic. So I wrote this song, and I used that sound in the song. Weird, right? I woke up from the dream, saying the weird part into my phone, figuring I had to include it in something because it was just too strange not to. In pop, it’s fun to play around with little weird noises like that.
    creykon November 13, 2014   Link
  • +1
    General CommentIn this song Taylor points out that no matter what she does, she cannot indeed make anyone “stay”; that decision is always up to the other person and therefore out of her control.

    This particular guy’s indecision (breaking up and then wanting to get back together) put the final nail on the relationship’s coffin.
    amirbeon January 03, 2015   Link
  • 0
    General CommentCompleting what plays like a three-song cycle that begins with “Style” and “Out of the Woods,” “All You Had to Do Was Stay” sees the man who was unwilling to commit (Swift has implied that this one, too, is about Styles) come crawling back to her. He may “want it back,” but—as Swift sings with a nearly audible wagging finger—“It’s just too late.” While perhaps not as memorable as the other two songs, the track gets points for attitude.
    amirbeon October 26, 2014   Link
  • 0
    General CommentThe fifth track in Taylor Swift’s album 1989 is another song about Swift’s trouble with mantaining a lasting relationship, despite of her best efforts.
    amirbeon January 03, 2015   Link
  • 0
    General CommentOne vibe that I get with this song is that she was always giving more in the relationship than he was-she was doing all the work and that's why all the guy had to do was stay, which he couldn't. So then when he comes back to her wanting another chance, she can't accept it because she's done pulling more than her weight in that relationship.
    xoxofitzgeraldon July 21, 2015   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

Back to top