[INTRO — rain / engine running / eerie electric piano] 2:16 in the morning… Nobody on the road. Just me… At least that’s what I thought. VOICE: You gonna act like you don’t see me? MAN: … How long you been sitting there? VOICE: Longer than you think. [BEAT DROPS] [VERSE 1] Rain hitting glass, streetlights bleeding through the windshield, Hands at ten and two, but something in the car don’t feel real, Look toward the passenger seat— There I am. Same face. Same eyes. But younger… Angrier man. OLD ME: What’s good? Nothing. You don’t look happy to see me. I’m not. That’s fucked up. Why? I’m the reason that you’re still alive. There it is. That same shit. Every time I try to change, you remind me what we lived through like I’m supposed to stay the same. OLD ME: Stay the same? Motherfucker, I protected you. When everybody walked away— I was there with you. When you couldn’t trust nobody— I taught you how. When you were scared— I turned that fear into anger. Look at you now. [HOOK — haunting female vocal underneath] Passenger seat… Who the hell am I riding with? Past keeps talking like I owe him for surviving it. One hand on the wheel. One eye on what used to be. And the man sitting beside me… looks exactly like me. Passenger seat… Tell me where this road goes. ‘Cause the further that I’m driving, the less I recognize home. [VERSE 2] MAN: You did protect me. I’ll give you that. But every survival skill ain’t meant to survive forever intact. You taught me everybody’s dangerous. Everybody eventually leaves. Never show ‘em where you’re hurting. Never tell ’em what you need. OLD ME: And were we wrong? Sometimes. Name one. … Damn. OLD ME: Exactly. No. That’s your trick. You remember every person who hurt us and forget everybody who didn’t. You remember every door that closed and ignore every one that opened. You remember every betrayal— but never love. OLD ME: Love gets you hurt. Yeah. And fear makes sure you never live enough to find out. [DRUMS CUT] OLD ME: You’ve gotten soft. MAN: Maybe. Or maybe I finally got strong enough that I don’t need anger doing all my talking. [BEAT RETURNS HARDER] [VERSE 3] Red light. Car stopped. Neither one talking. Then he looks through the windshield and asks me something awkward. OLD ME: Where we going? I don’t know. Then why you driving? Because staying where we were almost fucking killed us. OLD ME: So what happens to me? That’s the question. ’Cause I spent years thinking healing meant I had to kill that version. Erase him. Forget him. Pretend that he was wrong. But maybe you were necessary— you just stayed too fucking long. OLD ME: … So you’re leaving me? No. I’m relieving you. [SILENCE] OLD ME: What? You don’t have to protect me anymore. [SAMPLE FLIPS — MONSTROUS DROP] [VERSE 4] That’s when his whole face changed. Anger disappeared. For the first time I wasn’t looking at rage— I was looking at fear. He wasn’t some demon. Wasn’t evil inside. He was a frightened younger version of me who learned anger could hide Every insecurity. Every abandonment. Every night we felt alone. Every time we needed safety and couldn’t fucking find a home. Damn. All these years I thought I was fighting some disease. Turns out that angry motherfucker was a kid protecting me. OLD ME: So… we’re good? Yeah. You forgive me? There ain’t nothing to forgive. You got us here. But listen— I gotta teach us how to live. [FINAL HOOK — FULL SAMPLE] Passenger seat… You can ride another mile. We ain’t gotta talk. Just sit there for a while. I understand you now. That’s something I couldn’t see. You weren’t trying to destroy me— you were trying to protect me. Passenger seat… Morning’s breaking through the rain. Same road. Same scars. But something doesn’t feel the same. And somewhere down this highway, when that sunrise finally shows… I’ll let the old me rest… and I’ll keep driving down the road. [OUTRO — drums disappear / engine + Rhodes] OLD ME: Hey. Yeah? You think we’re gonna be alright? … I think we’re gonna find out. OLD ME: You scared? Yeah. OLD ME: Me too. I know. [TURN SIGNAL] click… click… click… OLD ME: Which way? MAN: Forward. [KICK — VINYL CUT]
