IVORY ARSON (by Fanny Alexandra) [Verse 1] They dressed me in white like a beautiful warning, Perfume and pearls for the girls they keep mourning Smile for the photograph, chin up, stay still— Nobody likes a woman with a visible will I learned how to disappear cleanly at parties, Lipstick like sirens, eyes going starry You called me “angel” whenever I obeyed Funny how heaven only loves girls afraid ⸻ [Pre-Chorus] I let you turn me holy Just so you’d hold me close But fire looks prettier When it’s wearing gold ⸻ [Chorus] Ivory arson—watch me glow Set fire to the girl you thought you owned Ash falling soft where the angels pray If I burn beautiful in the flames— maybe I was made that way Ivory arson in my lungs Pretty little martyr biting through her tongue You called me heaven just to keep me tame Now I light the match and take back the blame ⸻ [Verse 2] There’s a cracked-wing ballerina inside my ribcage Dancing for strangers on a minimum wage Every “good girl” instinct twisting like lace Trying not to choke on the smoke in my praise You kissed me slow in cathedral lighting Half devotion, half perfect timing Said, “You’re different—dangerous too” Like breaking me was romantic to you And I wore sweetness like it couldn’t kill me Soft enough to bleed, sharp enough to feel things Everybody wants a tragic muse— Until she starts talking back in the mirror ⸻ [Pre-Chorus] You only liked my silence When it looked like grace But grief grows teeth eventually And learns your name ⸻ [Chorus] Ivory arson—watch me glow Set fire to the girl you thought you owned Ash falling soft where the angels pray If I burn beautiful in the flames— maybe I was made that way Ivory arson in my lungs Pretty little martyr biting through her tongue You called me heaven just to keep me tame Now I light the match and take back the blame ⸻ [Bridge] I was raised to be delicate Hands folded, eyes down But delicate things shatter loudest When they finally hit the ground And God— I spent years making myself smaller So nobody would call me “too much” Now I wanna take up space like a funeral choir Like a riot in a church Like smoke you can’t wash out (build) You wanted innocence Soft and controlled But innocence is just a matchstick Waiting to catch gold ⸻ [Final Chorus] Ivory arson—watch me rise Crawling from the ashes in expensive white Ash falling soft like poisoned snow There’s no saving what I was before Choir girls with their angel wings Envying what they’ll never be If I burn beautiful in the flames— maybe the fire was always in me ⸻ [Outro] You built a heaven I could never survive in So I became the smoke instead Ivory arson… Ivory arson…
