THE STRANGER INSIDE [Verse 1 — low, intimate] I spent half my life accusing Every road beneath my feet, Every door that wouldn't open, Every heart I couldn't reach. I called my hunger ambition, Till it wouldn't let me sleep, Called my jealousy a question, While the poison settled deep. I wore anger like an armor, I wore pride to hide the scars, Never knowing I was fighting Someone living in my heart. [Pre-Chorus — building] Oh, how many years can a man run From a shadow with his face? How many worlds must he conquer Before he turns around and says— [Chorus — explosive] WHO ARE YOU When the lights go down? WHO ARE YOU When there's no one around? When the rage comes like a wild bull, When the fear gets in your blood, When ambition turns to panic And your dreams become a flood— Before you blame the whole world, Before you beg somebody's help, Turn around, face the stranger— Know yourself! Know yourself! [Verse 2 — stronger rhythm] I have watched a little sadness Build a kingdom in my chest, Watched a thought become an ocean That would never let me rest. I have wanted what another Held beneath a brighter sun, Till his happiness offended me For battles I'd never won. Every feeling has a doorway, Every doorway has a name, If you never learn to read them, They will set your house aflame. [Pre-Chorus] We can memorize the heavens, We can split the smallest cell, Still be strangers to the creature That we carry in ourselves. [Chorus] WHO ARE YOU When the lights go down? WHO ARE YOU When there's no one around? When your love becomes possession, When your courage turns to pride, When the tears you keep imprisoning Become an ocean deep inside— You can lie to every mirror, You can fool everybody else, But there's nowhere left to hide now— Know yourself! Know yourself! [Bridge — music falls almost silent] Socrates... You left us three small words. No palace. No fortune. No promise of another world. Just three words Sharp enough to cut Through every mask we wear: Know... yourself. And maybe that's why we avoid them— Because somewhere underneath, We're terrified the truth will tell us We're not who we believed. [Build — heartbeat → drums → strings] But I would rather meet my darkness Than spend another life asleep. I'd rather know the wound that made me Than let the wound keep choosing me. Let me meet my fear by name. Let me ask my anger why. Let me hold my grief beside me Till it doesn't need to hide. [FINAL CHORUS — huge, passionate] I KNOW MYSELF A little more tonight! I KNOW MYSELF— And I'm no longer scared to fight! Not against the world around me, Not against the falling rain, But against the lies I've carried And the masks that learned my name. I don't need to rule the ocean, I just need to steer myself. Maybe that's the oldest wisdom, Maybe that's the greatest wealth— Know yourself! Know yourself! Before you ask the world Who you should be... Know yourself. [Outro — exhausted voice, piano] The longest journey I have ever made... Was from the man I thought I was... To me.
