[Intro - Solo female vocal, close mic'd, bare acoustic guitar, water drip ambience] There was a time I couldn't hear my own voice Too much noise Too many opinions But I found my way back [Verse 1 - Female, soft and intimate, acoustic guitar and brushed percussion enters] I used to ask everybody else Which way I should go Let the room decide for me Things only I could know Talked myself out of instincts That were never wrong Spent so long second guessing I forgot where I belonged [Pre-Chorus - Female, tension building, sub drone rises] Then one day the noise got quiet And I heard something clear A voice I recognized but hadn't listened to In years [Chorus - Female lead, male harmony underneath, reversed piano swells] In and out of who I thought I was Somewhere in the middle I got lost But I found the one thing that never left me Even when I couldn't see it in myself Through the doubt and all the noise I still had my own voice Took a minute but I got back home Back to me, I knew me all along [Post-Chorus - Instrumental break, acoustic guitar only, water drip returns] Ohhh... I knew me Mmm... all along [Verse 2 - Male harmony steps forward, close mic'd, sparse and dark, tape hiss audible] I let the outside world Tell me who I was supposed to be Chased everybody else's version Of what they saw in me Walked past mirrors for a whole year Didn't want to look Then I picked myself up slowly Like a dog-eared page in a book [Pre-Chorus - Male, voice swells, granular delay on vocal tail] Something shifted in the stillness When I finally let it breathe Turned out everything I needed Had been waiting right in me [Chorus - Female lead, male harmony rises, reversed piano fragments] In and out of who I thought I was Somewhere in the middle I got lost But I found the one thing that never left me Even when I couldn't see it in myself Through the doubt and all the noise I still had my own voice Took a minute but I got back home Back to me, I knew me all along [Bridge - All instruments drop, female vocal only, long reverb tail] I don't regret the detours Every wrong turn taught me something right I don't regret the people Who made me question my own light Because questioning made me certain In a way I never was before Now I walk into every room Knowing exactly what I came here for [Breakdown - Male harmony only, low and close, single acoustic guitar notes] She always knew Always knew Even in the doubt She knew [Final Chorus - Female lead powerful, male harmony full, all instrumentation swells, studio only] In and out of who I thought I was Somewhere in the middle I got lost But I found the one thing that never left me Even when I couldn't see it in myself Through the doubt and all the noise I still had my own voice Took a minute but I got back home Back to me, I knew me all along [Outro - Female vocal fades, water drip returns, single reverb piano note] I knew me... (always did) All along... (just had to listen) Back home... (back to me) I knew me...
