Name

[Intro] (whispered, breathy, over minor piano — single notes) Nobody told me… the dark would learn my name… and I'd answer to it… [Hook] (soft, aching — restrained) I answered to "broken" for the longest time, answered to "used up," answered to "left behind" Forgot the sound of who I really was — till You called my name, till You called my name Not the one the dark put on me, not the one I earned, You spoke the name I came with 'fore the whole thing burned — You called my name, oh, You called my name [Verse 1] (intimate, conversational, building) Nobody warns you that the dark learns your name, takes the soft of who you were and it rebrands it as shame It don't shout it, no, it whispers, just a "you are what they said," till you answer to the lie like it's the only name you've had And I wore it on my collar, wrote it down inside my chest, introduced myself as "ruined" to whoever I had met — 'cause when something calls you long enough, you turn when it is called, and I'd been answering to "nothing" since the night I lost it all [Pre-Hook] (swelling, more air in the voice) Then a voice cut through the noise that didn't sound like the rest, didn't call me what I'd done, didn't call me what was left — said a name I'd half-forgotten… and my whole body turned [Hook] (fuller now, opening up) I answered to "broken" for the longest time, answered to "used up," answered to "left behind" Forgot the sound of who I really was — till You called my name, till You called my name Not the one the dark put on me, not the one I earned, You spoke the name I came with 'fore the whole thing burned — You called my name, oh, You called my name [Verse 2] First I didn't think You meant me, looked behind to see who's there, 'cause that name was for the girl before, the one I couldn't bear But You said it again, steady, like You knew it was the truth, like the dark had never owned it, like You held the only proof And it cracked something open that I'd welded shut for years — the idea the real me wasn't drowning in the tears, that beneath the name I answered to, the one that made me small, was the name I had at first, before the dark, before the fall [Pre-Hook] And the name that I'd been wearing started slipping off like rust, all the things I thought I was, all the lies I learned to trust — 'cause You said the true one louder… and the false ones came undone [Bridge] (choir, half-time, big gospel runs over the top) You called me (You called me) by my name (by my name) Not the one the world put on me, not the one of all my shame You called me (You called me), called me home — the name beneath the rubble was the realest thing I own (call it again… call it again…) [Verse 3] (energy lifts, hope breaks through, vocal opening to full) Now I say it in the mirror and I don't look away, say the name I came in with at the breaking of the day I'm not "broken," I'm not "used up," I'm not "too far gone to save" — those were names the dark invented, and the dark is in its grave So if something's got you answering to a name that isn't yours, if you turn when they call "worthless" like it's knocking at your door — there's a truer name beneath it, it was always who you were, and the second that you hear it called, the false ones disappear [Final Hook] (full belt + choir + runs) I answered to "broken" for the longest time — but that was never my name, no, that was never mine You spoke the truth of who I am and I made it through — You called my name, You called my name Not the one the dark put on me, not the one I earned, You spoke the name I came with 'fore the whole thing burned — You called my name, oh, You called my name [Outro] (choir fades under reverb, organ holds, vocal soft) I forgot the sound of it… but You never did… You called my name… You called my name…