[Intro] (Clean voice: "I never said that" → progressively distorted repetitions) [Verse 1] Heard you said something about me By the time it reached my ears I was a monster, I was the enemy But you never said my name, not really Just mentioned something, someone twisted it around Passed it on, added details, more profound With each retelling, I became less human More symbol, more villain, more of what they're assuming I'd be if I was who they think I am But I'm just me, trying to understand How we got here, how the distance grew so wide Between your mouth and my ears, truth died [Pre-Chorus] Telephone wires carrying distortion Each connection adds its own distortion [Chorus] Lost in translation, your words to my ears Through five different people over months and years By the time it reaches me, I don't recognize The version of you speaking, or the me they vilify Just want to look you in the eye, skip all the mirrors Cut the telephone wires, eliminate the barriers [Verse 2] I wanted to explain my side, my truth, my perspective But who would hear me through the static, through the invective That's already built up? I'm already condemned By interpretations of interpretations, this trend Of distortion compounding, each layer adding distance Until we're both just characters in someone else's existence Not real people with complexity and doubt Just cartoons, just projections they can shout about I miss you, but I don't know if you're still in there Behind all the versions floating in the air [Pre-Chorus] Telephone wires carrying lies Nobody means to, but truth dies [Chorus] Lost in translation, your words to my ears Through five different people over months and years By the time it reaches me, I don't recognize The version of you speaking, or the me they vilify Just want to look you in the eye, skip all the mirrors Cut the telephone wires, eliminate the barriers [Bridge] (Harmonies diverging, different versions splitting) Your voice (my voice) Their voice (whose voice?) Echoes (echoes) Choices (choices) Which version is real? (Which version is real?) What do we actually feel? (What do we actually feel?) [Verse 3] Maybe it's simple, maybe it's just this: Direct contact breaks the distortion, breaks the miss Communication, face to face, no intermediary Voice to ear, eye to eye, necessary Connection that can't be filtered, can't be spun Maybe that's the only way truth gets done So here I am, in front of you, asking clear: Can we start over? Can you hear me here? [Chorus - Final] No more translation, no more telephone chain Just you and me, unfiltered, naming the pain Of being misunderstood, being made into Something we're not by the distance between me and you Look me in the eye, let's cut the wires Direct connection, no more barriers [Outro] (Single clean voice, all effects stripped) Just us... No distance... Maybe we can... (Sustained hope)
