[Intro – bare piano, slow, minor key, breath close to mic] I learned to whisper in a room full of knives, Count every silence like it’s still alive, They called it grace, I called it a game— Every soft word hid a different name. [Verse 1 – restrained, intimate, phrasing slightly behind the beat] I wore my calm like a tailored lie, Kept my pulse where it couldn’t rise, You’d never see where the fractures start— I lacquered gold over every part. I read the room like a loaded gun, Every glance said what you’ve become, And I smiled slow like I didn’t know… But I always know. [Pre-Chorus – tension building, piano climbing] Don’t ask me where the mercy went, I buried it in accident, Don’t ask me if I feel it still— I feel what I choose to kill. [Chorus – full voice, emotional crack allowed] I am the quiet before the fall, The velvet hand on the iron wall, You think you hold me—I let you try, But I’m the reason your angels lie. I don’t break, I rearrange, Turn every wound into a blade, If you come close, don’t ask me why— I’m not the one who learned to cry. [Verse 2 – darker, more grounded, subtle grit in voice] I tasted truth and it tasted cold, Like silver spoons and a mouth of gold, They fed me rules I could never keep— So I learned how to hunt in my sleep. Every touch is a calculated sin, Every door is a way to win, And love… it flickers, then disappears— Like it never lived here. [Pre-Chorus – quieter, almost spoken] You say there’s something underneath, A softer shape, a hidden grief… But if you dig, you’ll only find What I’ve already left behind. [Chorus – bigger, more broken, sustained notes] I am the quiet before the fall, The velvet hand on the iron wall, You think you know me—you only see The shape of what I let you be. I don’t break, I redefine, Turn every loss into design, If you stay close, don’t ask me why— I’m not the one who learned to cry. [Bridge – stripped piano, almost confession, fragile tone] There was a time— (or so they say) When I believed in something that stayed… But it slipped through my careful hands, Like it never could understand— That I don’t hold, I only control… And that costs a soul. [Final Chorus – explosive but controlled, Beth Hart-style emotional peak] I am the quiet before the fall, The final truth you can’t recall, You try to love me—I let you in, Just far enough to feel the skin. I don’t break—I disappear, Leave only echoes crystal clear, And if I bleed, it won’t be shown— I learned too young to do it alone. [Outro – soft piano, fading, almost a whisper] So take your light, I’ll take the night… We both know which one survives.
