[intro. low piano. breath catches slightly] Before I ask the world for anything I gotta be honest with myself. [spoken verse 1. intimate. slow] I used to believe change was a message Something you framed real pretty Something you said when your voice was steady and your life wasn’t being tested. I spoke conviction but lived convenience. I wanted the world softer without hardening my own spine. I wanted justice without the discomfort of practice. [spoken verse 2. bass enters. firmer] I’ve preached patience then snapped when I was tired. Quoted wisdom then ignored it when it asked too much of me. I learned real quick that truth don’t disappear just because you sing it nicely. It waits. And it watches what you do next. [spoken refrain. grounded] I can’t ask the world to heal with hands I refuse to steady. [spoken verse 3. rhythm tightens] See. change don’t show up loud. It shows up on random Tuesdays when nobody’s counting. When being right would feel so good but being kind costs more. It shows up in the pause before I respond. In the apology I don’t wanna give because my ego still wants credit. That’s where the work lives. [spoken verse 4. NEW. more emotional. personal] There were nights I knew better and still chose easy. Times I recognized my own reflection and looked away anyway. I carry those moments with me. Not as shame but as receipts. Because every time I ignored my values I felt it later. In my sleep. In my silence. In the way my voice lost weight when I tried to speak about change. [spoken bridge. softer. confessional] I don’t need perfection. I need honesty. I need my private life to stop contradicting my public prayers. [spoken verse 5. passion rising] The world doesn’t need another slogan. It needs witnesses. People whose lives back up their beliefs even when it costs them comfort. So I’m starting small. With how I listen. With how I forgive. With how I stay when it’d be easier to leave. Because if I want light out there I gotta stop dimming it in here. [spoken outro. piano resolves. voice steady] Before I ask the world to change I’m gonna live it first. Not perfectly. But truthfully.
