[Intro] (Spoken-sung with raw edge, building over clean guitar and distant drums – weary but defiant) You beat me down… I climbed back up… You pushed me back… I jump to the front… You buried me deep… And I climbed out… Nails and teeth… [Verse 1] The weight of their hands still echoes in these bones Whispers in the dark saying I should’ve stayed broke and alone Target painted sharp right across my back Running through the years with guilt I never asked for They hunted what was innocent, called it love, called it right Fed me to the wolves and taught me how to vanish in the night But something in the silence refused to die away A fire in the ruins that learned to fuel the rage [Pre-Chorus] (Building intensity, rhythmic and charged) Every push, every shove, every time I hit the floor Something deeper woke up, screaming “nevermore” [Chorus] You beat me down — I climbed back up! You pushed me back — I jumped to the front! You buried me deep — I clawed my way out… With nails and teeth! Nails and teeth! You thought the darkness would swallow me whole But I met my shadow and it took control You buried me deep… I came out with nails and teeth! [Verse 2] That little boy you broke is gone, buried deep in the soil Figurative and real, no more blood for your spoils I slipped into the hollow where the broken ones hide Found the pieces they shattered, the fury they denied It ate me alive, the fear and the fight Till we fused in the flames, became one in the night No more chains on my soul, no more mask on my face The prey is long dead… now the hunter owns this place [Bridge] (Slower, intense build with emotional delivery – raw confession turning into powerful resolve, guitar swells underneath) You came back around thinking the grave would hold me tight But the boy you devoured found his teeth in the fight I remember the beatings, the lies, the shame Every scar is a chapter, every tear fuels the flame I’m not running no more from the dark in my veins We walk side by side through the fire and the rain The monster and the man, finally the same Rising from the dirt… forever unchained [Final Chorus] (Big anthemic peak – full band, soaring vocals with layered harmonies and raw passion) You beat me down — I climbed back up! You pushed me back — I jumped to the front! You buried me deep — I clawed my way out… With nails and teeth! Nails and teeth! You thought you killed the light inside my chest But the shadow learned to fight, to breathe, to manifest You buried me deep… I came out with nails and teeth! [Outro] (Layered vocals, emotional and fading with reverb – defiant resolve) You buried me deep… And I climbed out… Nails and teeth… The boy you ate is gone… But I remain… One and the same… Nails and teeth… (Guitars and drums resolve into a powerful, lingering close)
