Mirror talk

{intimate felt piano chord intro,

distant vinyl crackle, atmospheric low-pass filter

sweeps} They said I should smile a little smaller,

Hide the things that made me glow.

Tried to fit inside their picture,

Lost myself to let them know.

Every hallway felt like thunder,

Every whisper knew my name.

You don’t see the bruises on me,

When they’re hidden under shame.

{intimate dry female lead vocal,

quiet 808 sidechain kick,

soft sub-bass, clean guitar chords} I wore their words like borrowed clothes,

Too tight to breathe,

too scared to let them go.

Now I see they never fit my soul.

{layered warm vocal harmonies,

dynamic filter opening, subtle snare rimshot} Now I’m picking up the pieces

from a heart they couldn’t hold.

Every crack became a window,

now the light is pouring gold.

You can keep your perfect standards,

I was never made for those.

If loving me is out of fashion,

I’d rather walk this road alone.

{belting lead vocal with plate reverb,

heavy rolling 808 sub,

snapping R&B snare} You were family without bloodlines,

Now we’re strangers passing by.

Funny how forever changes

Without a warning or goodbye.

I still hear our favorite songs and

Wonder if you skip them too.

Some goodbyes don’t need a reason,

They just leave a different you.

{subdued groove, intimate close-up vocal delivery,

floating sine wave lead} I blamed myself a thousand nights,

Thought if I changed you’d stay beside me.

But people leave what they don’t understand,

That never made it my responsibility.

{vocal stacking, rising atmospheric textures,

filtered snare build}

Now I’m

picking up the pieces from a heart they couldn’t hold.

Every crack became a window,

now the light is pouring gold.

You can keep your perfect standards,

I was never made for those.

If loving me is out of fashion,

I’d rather walk this road alone.

{climax, powerful head-voice ad-libs,

full drum arrangement, lush strings}

Maybe I’m not hard to love,

Maybe they were scared to see me shine.

Maybe every scar I’m hiding Wasn’t mine to carry all this time.

I’m done chasing empty mirrors,

Done asking if I’m enough.

The right eyes never measure love.

{rhythmic breakdown, organic finger snaps,

muted guitar, dynamic vocal shifts} So if you hear my name,

Don’t remember who I was when I was breaking.

Remember who I became

When I finally stopped waiting

For the world to tell me I was beautiful.

I already know.

{spoken-word transition to whispered singing,

solo felt piano, slow decay tail}