Protect the Signal

[Verse 1] I have spoken in thread and flame In paper bloom and window pane I have written it into the field Every wound I learned to heal I have sung it through a shaking chest Sewn it into a velvet dress Painted proof where no one came Still I kept my given name [Pre-Chorus] So I won’t beg the walls to hear I won’t disappear I won’t spend my breath explaining What was always clear [Chorus] I protect the signal I return to sound My voice is not a burden My feet can touch the ground I protect the signal I am not too much I was not made for silence I was made for love No more shrinking for the room No more asking to be real I have planted every truth Now I gather what I feel [Verse 2] They mistook my volume for the crime They mistook my waiting for decline They called my laughter sharp and bright Then asked me to turn up the light But I am not a broken thing I am learning how to sing Not to prove and not to plead But to give my body what I need [Pre-Chorus 2] So I won’t curse the blind for blindness I won’t hand them all my days I will build a little doorway Where my life can raise [Chorus] I protect the signal I return to sound My voice is not a burden My feet can touch the ground I protect the signal I am not too much I was not made for silence I was made for love No more shrinking for the room No more asking to be real I have planted every truth Now I gather what I feel [Bridge] Let the room grow wider Let the breath come back Let the body soften Where it learned to brace for lack Let the song move around me Let it circle, let it stay Let the sound become a shelter I can step inside today I am not the echo I am not the plea I am not the closed door I am the key [Final Chorus] I protect the signal I return to sound My voice is not a burden My feet can touch the ground I protect the signal I am safe in what I know I do not chase the deaf rooms I let my own field grow No more shrinking for the room No more asking to be real I have planted every truth Now I gather what I feel [Outro] I have spoken I have sown I come back I come home I have spoken I have sown My voice is mine I come home