# THE GATES WERE NEVER LOCKED **[Intro]** I wore the weight of a wall that was smoke, Called it a cage, never questioned the joke. Hands on the bars, heart hard in the dark, Till I pushed once lightly— and everything sparked. **[Verse 1]** I counted my losses like locks on a door, Fed every fear till it begged me for more. Doubt did the talking, I treated it true, Built me a border nobody else drew. I made every maybe a mountain of stone, Made every silence mean I was alone. Mind made a movie, then called it a fact, But thoughts are just thoughts—I can question the act. Pressure made diamonds, but patience made plans, Pain made me panic, then purpose made hands. I stopped asking shadows which road I should take, Put truth to the test and discovered the fake. **[Pre-Chorus]** All of that running, all of that strain, All of those stories rehearsing the pain— I reached for the handle expecting a fight... It opened. **[Chorus]** **THE GATES WERE NEVER LOCKED.** I was waiting for a key. Had the whole wide world ahead, Had the warden inside me. **THE GATES WERE NEVER LOCKED.** All that thunder, all that talk— Fear can paint a prison, But it cannot stop the walk. Push once. Step through. See what the light does. I thought freedom had to find me— **I just had to rise up.** **[Verse 2]** Now I don't bow to the first thing I feel, Feeling is weather—it isn't the wheel. Storm in my skull? Let it thunder, then pass. I steer by the compass, not clouds in the glass. Wise mind, wide eyes, both feet on the ground, Breathe through the noise till the signal gets found. Facts over fiction, intention over fear, One clean decision can change a whole year. I used to need certainty carved into gold, Now I move carefully even when cold. Courage ain't knowing the ending beforehand— Courage is moving with doubt in your hand. And winning ain't proving the doubters were wrong, Winning is learning you belonged all along. Winning is opening doors as you climb, Then holding them open for somebody behind. **[Pre-Chorus]** So if there's a wall where your daylight should be, Don't worship the wall—check what you can see. Don't bleed on a barrier built out of thought... **Try the lock.** **[Chorus]** **THE GATES WERE NEVER LOCKED.** I was waiting for a key. Had the whole wide world ahead, Had the warden inside me. **THE GATES WERE NEVER LOCKED.** All that thunder, all that talk— Fear can paint a prison, But it cannot stop the walk. Push once. Step through. See what the light does. I thought freedom had to find me— **I just had to rise up.** **[Bridge — piano drops almost alone]** Maybe the mountain is massive. Maybe the road really hurts. Maybe some chains are actual chains, And breaking them takes real work. But never let fear forge another And fasten it onto your name. Separate fact from the prophecy— Then walk through whatever remains. One breath. One truth. One deliberate move. No prophecy needed— Just something to prove. Not to them. **To you.** **[Final Chorus — huge choir]** **THE GATES WERE NEVER LOCKED.** Hear the hinges when they swing. Every step beyond the boundary Makes another spirit sing. **THE GATES WERE NEVER LOCKED.** Let the old illusion fall. Freedom isn't feeling fearless— **Freedom's moving through it all.** Push once. Break through. Bring everybody up. Turn the keys into a kingdom, Turn the scars into enough. No cage. No crown Can tell me where I stop. I finally touched the doorway— **THE GATES WERE NEVER LOCKED.**
