[Title: SHAME IS A BAD TRANSLATOR] [Verse 1] Something hurt when I was small. I needed a reason I could hold. I knew they could be scary. I knew love could turn cold. I couldn't fix the giant. I couldn't leave the room. So a terrible little hope started making sense— If it's me, maybe I can change me. If I get smaller, maybe it'll stop. If I become what they need, maybe I won't get dropped. I said, "It must be me." Nobody had to say it. The child just learned to call it ME. [Pre-Chorus] The child grew up. The house changed. The shame did not get the memo. [Chorus] SHAME IS A BAD TRANSLATOR. They say one thing. I hear another. "Did you call them?" turns into— "You never do it right." "Can I help?" turns into— "You think I can't." Somebody shines— and I go dim in a sentence nobody said. Then we're fighting words that weren't there. SHAME IS A BAD TRANSLATOR. WHAT DID THEY SAY? WHAT DID SHAME ADD? [Verse 2] Tuesday night. Kitchen light. "Did you remember to make that call?" That's all. But something in me hears— "You think I'm irresponsible." Now we're not talking about a telephone. I'm defending my whole worth. A quiet car sounds like leaving. A question sounds like court. Love walks in and I brace before it lands. Face gets hot. Stomach drops. Words come sharp before I even stop. I'm not crazy. I'M TRANSLATED. [Pre-Chorus] Different armor. Same old fear: If you really see me, will you keep me here? [Chorus] SHAME IS A BAD TRANSLATOR. They say one thing. I hear another. "I need space" turns into— "This is the end." "I disagree" turns into— "You're small again." Then they swear, "I never said that"— and they're telling the truth. SHAME DID. It added a line and handed me the fight. WHAT DID THEY SAY? WHAT DID SHAME ADD? [Long Instrumental] [Bridge] Some get small. Some get loud. Some get perfect. Some get useful. Some joke, some work, some lock the door. Same glasses. Same whisper: If you see me, you may not stay. The body hears it before the mind. Smoke alarm screaming when there ain't a fire. Face gets hot. Chest gets tight. Old room talking in a brand-new night. [Silence] But this is not that room. And you are not that giant. [Breakdown] What did you actually say? What did shame add? Say it slow. Split the sentence. A question can be a question. Help can be help. Silence can just be silence. Someone else's light doesn't turn mine off. I can be wrong about one little thing without becoming something wrong. I don't have to win the room. I don't have to prove my chair belongs. I can stay. [Silence] What happened was real. What they did was wrong. But what it taught me about myself— WAS NOT THE TRUTH. [Instrumental Build] [Final Chorus] SHAME IS A BAD TRANSLATOR— BUT IT DOESN'T GET THE LAST WORD. They say one thing. I can hear what they said. No extra sentence. No hidden charge. No courtroom in my head. WHAT DID THEY SAY? WHAT DID SHAME ADD? I can stop before I answer. I can listen without the old room talking over you. A question can stay a question. A light can stay a light. I don't have to win this room to deserve a chair tonight. LAY THE GLASSES DOWN. LIFT UP YOUR FACE. SHAME IS A BAD TRANSLATOR. I HEAR YOU NOW. I HEAR YOU NOW. [Long Instrumental Outro] [Outro] You didn't say I was the stain. Shame did. You didn't say I wasn't enough. Shame did. You didn't say I had to hide. Shame did. [Silence] They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed. [Silence] The Book gets the last word. JESUS IS THE LORD.
