[Verse 1] I packed it in a box Like it might stay still Hand‑me‑downs in shadows Empty fridge, half a meal Eleven souls in one room Mama wide awake Daddy chasing paychecks Praying he won't break They laughed at my worn shoes At the holes in my name I learned to hide my hunger Turn it to a game [Pre-Chorus] But it all comes back In the dark, in my head Scenes from every hard year Washing over red And I see it again Like I never got through What I pushed down back then Found its way to you [Chorus] I wake up crying I wake up crying All the hurt I saved Now it keeps trying I wake up crying I wake up crying Still that kid inside Still asking why [Verse 2] School bell, cold hallway Thin coat, bent frame A joke in somebody's mouth Carved into my name I swung just to stand up For the rumbling in my gut Took the punches, kept my pride Stitched my own heart shut I saw too much early Too much blood, too much loss Family breaking, beds gone bare Grief nailed to a cross I never had the words So I swallowed every scream Now the night turns my pillow To a broken screen of dreams [Pre-Chorus] And the room goes small When the memories come Every little thing Beats loud as a drum I was young, I was hard I was told, "Just survive" But the pieces left behind Still won’t let me lie [Chorus] I wake up crying I wake up crying All the hurt I saved Now it keeps trying I wake up crying I wake up crying Still that kid inside Still asking why [Bridge] Now I'm old, and I'm lonely With this same cracked heart All those buried nights Tore me apart If I speak it out loud Will it finally leave? Or did I wait too long To let my chest believe? [Final Chorus] I wake up crying I wake up crying All the hurt I saved Now it keeps trying I wake up crying I wake up crying Still that kid inside Still asking why I wake up crying I wake up crying All those poor‑house nights Playing back in my mind I wake up crying I wake up crying ’Cause I never did then Now I’m catching up inside
