One Breath

[Intro — Soft, almost spoken] It hit me today... I've spent so long getting angry at always being the one who has to take the deep breath. Like everyone else gets to strike the match... And I'm responsible for what the fire does next. But maybe... that's where my power was hiding all along. [Verse 1] I've always had this wildfire Burning underneath my skin, A heart that loves like summer And fights like hell when danger gets in. I've hated being told to calm down, To count to ten and walk away, When someone else could start the inferno And I'd get blamed for every flame. Why should I control the fire When somebody else brought the spark? Why am I the one breathing slowly While they're throwing matches in the dark? [Pre-Chorus] Then something finally hit me... Air can change a flame. One breath can make it smaller. One breath can make it rage. And suddenly that breath Didn't feel like surrender anymore. [Chorus] It only takes one breath— To starve a flame or feed it, To hold the fire steady Or give the whole damn sky to it. I thought controlling fire Meant I had to put mine out, But maybe taking that deep breath Is how I choose what burns now. The fire still belongs to me. The flame is still alive. I'm not silencing the wildfire— I'm deciding how it rises. [Verse 2] I spent years thinking restraint Meant letting someone else win, That every word I didn't scream Was another cage around my skin. I thought strength meant retaliation, If you burned me, I'd burn brighter. But there's power in holding lightning And deciding where it strikes. Because I don't have to burn the forest Just to prove that I have fire. I don't have to scorch the earth To make somebody hear me louder. I can warm the hands I love. I can light somebody home. And when something deserves my fury... I can let that motherfucker roar. [Chorus] It only takes one breath— To starve a flame or feed it, To hold the fire steady Or give the whole damn sky to it. Some flames aren't worth my oxygen. Some fires deserve to die. And some deserve a hurricane That paints their truth across the sky. So I'll breathe. Not because you told me to. Not because my fire is wrong. I'll breathe because the breath is mine, And I decide what happens next. [Violin Interlude] Soft violin begins like a flickering candle, gradually growing into a fierce electric melody—controlled, powerful, alive. [Bridge — Intimate] Some fires should become ashes. Some deserve to light the dark. Some become a little lantern For another wounded heart. Some keep my family warm. Some illuminate the truth. Some flames become a beacon For somebody fighting through. And some... Some need to blaze. But now I know the difference: Fire isn't control over me. I am not the flames. I am the woman Standing in front of them... Deciding what they become. [Build — Growing] So tell me to take a breath. Go ahead. This time I won't hear: "Be quiet." I won't hear: "Make yourself smaller." I won't hear: "Your anger makes you dangerous." I'll hear— Choose. And I'll breathe in deep... [Breakdown — Powerful, Not Screamed] The breath is mine. THE FIRE IS MINE. The anger is mine. THE CHOICE IS MINE. I can cool it. I can tend it. I can shelter it from rain. I can turn a spark into a lantern... Or a wildfire into change. You don't control my flame. You don't decide its worth. I finally learned to hold the fire Without letting it burn me first. [Final Chorus — Huge] IT ONLY TAKES ONE BREATH— To starve the flame or feed it, To cradle something beautiful Or set the darkness blazing. I thought controlling fire Meant becoming something less. Now I know that knowing when to burn Might be my greatest strength. I am still the wildfire. Still stubborn. Still loud. Still me. But the woman standing in these flames Finally holds the air she needs. So I'll breathe. I'll choose. I'll burn when I decide. Because the fire was always mine— And now the breath is mine. [Outro — Quiet] Take a breath... Not to silence the fire. Not to make yourself small. Take a breath... And ask: What do I want this fire to become?