[VERSE 1: intimate, close] It isn't about the money. I could stay. I'd survive. But I wake up every morning feeling smaller than last night. Your key still hangs beside mine. My shoes are by the door. We still sleep beneath one blanket, just further than before. [PRE-CHORUS: drums thin; melody climbs] I used to be afraid of leaving. Now I'm more afraid to stay. [CHORUS: bass opens; restrained power] I need my life back. Every piece I gave away. Every no I turned to yes, every time I chose to stay. It's not about escaping you. It's who I became with you. I've got one life. I need my life back. I stopped buying red wine. You never liked the taste. Stopped playing music in the kitchen. Learned not to take up space. I wore my hair the way you liked it. Learned which words to leave alone. Funny how you can share a house and slowly disappear from home. I kept waiting for permission, for somebody to understand. There is nothing left to talk through. The decision's in my hands. I used to be afraid of leaving. Now I'm more afraid to stay. I need my life back. Every piece I gave away. Every no I turned to yes, every year I said, "Someday." It's not about escaping you. It's who I became with you. I've got one life. I need my life back. [BRIDGE: strip to voice and electric piano] It's not about the money. It's about my sanity. And maybe choosing my own life means disappointing somebody. [Pause] I can live with that. [FINAL CHORUS: freer vocal, raw edges, strong groove] I'm taking my life back. Bought the red wine yesterday. Turned the kitchen music up. Put my pictures back in place. You can keep the key. You can keep the bed. You can keep the version of me I don't recognise anymore. I've got one life. [Pause] I'm taking it back. I thought I was leaving you. Turns out— I was coming back to me. [One imperfect guitar bend] [END] [NO: blues-rock, country, Americana, gospel, rock drums, guitar-hero solos, EDM drops, theatrical belting. Keep the electronic world luxurious and modern while blues lives inside the voice, piano and guitar.]
