couples gather on the street 
no way they notice me 
but i watch them walk together 
and it reminds me 
of nights when everyone was gone 
and i ended up alone 
nights that were unsafe to hope for anything 

lately i have noticed that so much 
is not what i imagined it'd be. 
when the harder times come calling on us 
we'll know if we're gonna need 

chorus: 
promises 
don't promise me 
say yes 
say no or yes 
but don't promise 

for all the reasons not to try 
i can't forget the times 
i swore that if i finally knew 
the answers to my prayers those nights 
when it came time to decide i'd just know 
and i would be ready 

lately i have noticed that so much 
is not what i'd imagined it'd be 
when the harder times come calling on us 
we'll know if we're gonna need