Ghosts

[Verse 1] There’s a truth scratching holes in the back of my skull The kind you’d burn down your whole life not to know Every flinch, every fight, every time that I froze Was a rerun script, not a choice I chose Thought I was steering this wreck in the dark Hands on the wheel, white-knuckled and stark But every turn, every crash that I survive Was a line in a code I never wrote in my life [Pre-Chorus 1] You say, “That’s just who I am” But that’s not true When the fear talks first That’s not you [Chorus 1] Ghosts in my wiring, ghosts in my code Running my life from the shadows I don’t know It’s not me that’s shaking when the floor gives way It’s the ghosts in my blood pressing play Ghosts in my hard drive, feeding me fear Replacing reality with what I’ve learned for years I’m not the voice that’s screaming when I come unglued It’s the ghosts, it’s the ghosts that move [Verse 2 – (cinematic, emotional)] It’s my mother’s restless pulse shaking in my chest Every “what if” hurricane when I try to rest It’s my father’s locked-up rage welded in my jaw Every quiet swallow hiding teeth and claws It’s my bloodline’s fear of exile burning in my throat Every word I choke on sounds like something they wrote There’s a six-year-old me still begging to be seen Turning straight A’s into rations for a little heat [Pre-Chorus 2] You call it “overreacting” They call it staying alive You call it “too much drama” They call it staying in the tribe [Chorus 2] Ghosts in my wiring, ghosts in my code Running my life from the shadows I don’t know It’s not me that’s shaking when the floor gives way It’s the ghosts in my blood pressing play Ghosts in my hard drive, curating my pain Overwriting every moment with a worst-case frame I’m not the voice that’s certain I’m already doomed It’s the ghosts, it’s the ghosts that bloom [Bridge (Breakdown)] This is not philosophy, it’s circuitry and fire An amygdala siren screaming “you’re not safe” higher Cortisol flooding like a toxic halo Turning every shadow to a loaded fuego History didn’t die, it moved into my nerves Trauma in the software, glitch in every curve Not destiny, but chemistry wired through Not “who I am,” just old ghosts coming through [Spoken/screamed variation (optional live section):] This is not magic, it’s memory Not weakness, but circuitry Not fate, just legacy Not “who I am” Just who I was trained to be [Final Chorus (Double)] Ghosts in my wiring, ghosts in my code Running my life from the shadows I don’t know You wrote my panic in a borrowed tongue But I’m cutting the strings, this haunting’s done Ghosts in my hard drive, feeding my fear I see your fingerprints on every smear For the first time ever, I can hear me under you These ghosts, these ghosts, I’m through [(Outro tag – repeat / scream)] It’s not you It’s not you It’s not you It’s the ghosts I’m burning through