Won’t Stay Small

[Verse 1] They drew a line and told me, “Stay” Keep your voice polite, your footsteps gray Fit your heart inside a narrow frame Smile on cue and answer to your name Every dream I carried, every flame Had to hide behind a safer shape But the walls are thin, the cracks are bright And something in me will not dim tonight [Pre-Chorus] I can feel the ceiling giving way Hear the hush before a change is made All the fear that held me in its grip Is losing ground, slipping bit by bit [Chorus] I am rising Higher than the hands that tried to hold me down I am turning All this doubt into a brand-new sound If the sky is wide enough to take the thunder I am wide enough to want it all And I won't stay small No, I won't stay small [Verse 2] Let them stare if they don't understand I have done my time with trembling hands Now the weight that lived inside my chest Turns to fire, turns to forward steps Every "no" becomes a stepping stone Every bruise reminds me I have grown I was never made to fade from sight I was only waiting for the height [Pre-Chorus] Now the air is opening for me Like a door I finally have the nerve to see There is nothing here I have to prove Only everything I choose [Chorus] I am rising Higher than the story they were writing down I am breaking Through the glass without a single sound If the sky is wild enough to bear the lightning I am wild enough to meet the call And I won't stay small No, I won't stay small [Bridge] Look at me Not the shadow, not the silence Not the version built for your convenience I have been the echo I have been the warning I have been the one who waits till morning But I am done Done with bending Done pretending Done descending Hear me now [Final Chorus] I am rising Past the fear and all the names they put on me I am blazing Like a light they never thought they'd see And if the world below still shakes with all its doubt and wonder Let it shake, let it stare, let it call I was born for more than standing still More than shrinking to fit their will And I am finally, fully, fearlessly Higher