(Spoken) I don’t build the sound… I build the truth Been carryin’ weight I don’t show in my face Smile in public… then drift outta place Every win feel hollow, I can’t feel the taste ’Cause I know what it cost just to get to this place I got scars I don’t speak on, they sit in my chest Every night I been fightin’, I don’t really rest They see motion and think that I’m finally blessed But don’t see all the pressure that sit on my neck I got better at hidin’ the hurt than fixin’ the root Now I function through pain like it’s part of the truth I been prayin’ for peace but it don’t answer back So I just let it sit… let it live where I’m at If I ever get quiet just know I ain’t good That’s the version of me I protect I don’t cry how I used to I just bury it deeper Every time I get close It get harder to keep up I’m barely holdin’ on but I perfected the show I been fightin’ all these demons where nobody go They see strength but don’t know what it cost I been winnin’… still feel lost I got better at lookin’ alive than I ever got fixin’ my soul I’m barely holdin’ on, I can’t lie Every smile got a reason I hide If you ever seen what’s inside— You’d know I’m survivin’, not livin’ tonight I done learned how to talk but say nothin’ at all Keep it bottled so nobody see when I fall Got a voice full of pain but I silence the call ’Cause I know they gon listen but miss it all I got people that love me but still feel alone ’Cause the version they love ain’t the one I condone I been buildin’ an image that hide what I’m on Now I’m stuck tryna figure out what is my own I turned pain into progress, now success got me trapped In a life I don’t feel like I chose ( flow shift — spiral bounce ) And the higher I go—it don’t feel like a rise Feel like I’m climbin’ away from my mind Every win got a delay on the high Like it hit… then it fade every time I been buildin’ a life I don’t sit in the same Keep achievin’, don’t know who to blame Every goal got me changin’ the frame Now I don’t even know what I gained Keep it movin’, don’t stop, don’t stall If I slow down it all might fall If I look back I might lose it all So I run from it… through it all If I slow down it all catch up If I speak out they won’t hear much If I said it plain it’d sound like a breakdown, not music So I hide it in rhythm and hope y’all don’t lose it I’m barely holdin’ on but I perfected the show I been fightin’ all these demons where nobody go They see strength but don’t know what it cost I been winnin’… still feel lost I got better at lookin’ alive than I ever got fixin’ my soul I’m barely holdin’ on, I can’t lie Every smile got a reason I hide If you ever seen what’s inside— You’d know I’m survivin’, not livin’ tonight
