Promises

The lyrics move from confidence in a close, fair relationship to disappointment and blame. At first, the speaker believes the couple share rules and will support one another. Later, they feel abandoned: the partner has no time for them, is absent when needed, and may never have cared. The repeated question changes from “How can you” to “Why did you,” making the hurt sound less like disbelief and more like an accusation.

The “promises” are specific commitments: to make time, be there, remain faithful, and care forever. “On my side” means being supportive, while “two sets of rules” suggests the relationship has become unequal or unfair. Calling the romance a game, and once saying it made other lovers seem foolish, hints that the speaker had treated their love as exceptional—perhaps too confidently.

The line “We had to change / but you stayed the same” is open to interpretation. It could mean the relationship needed to develop, but the partner refused to adapt; it could also reflect the speaker’s changing expectations. By the end, the speaker presents the partner’s failure to keep promises as proof that the love was never genuine. That certainty may express real clarity, or it may be the speaker’s wounded conclusion rather than an established fact.