Born from a Rumor [I wanted to write a song about school bullying—a girl who was mocked and humiliated until she took her own life. The song is told retrospectively by one of the girls who participated in the bullying, imagining the pain and isolation the girl endured, then confronting her own role in the cruelty that helped drive her there. It’s a confession of guilt and remorse, and a warning about how words meant as jokes can leave wounds long after the laughter ends.] [Verse 1 — sparse piano, distant atmospheric guitar; intimate female vocal] I was born from a rumor A whisper in the hall One little spark of poison That condemned us all Then came the laughing voices The pointing and glares A hundred little spears of ridicule That followed me everywhere I was crucified in the pile-on Condemned without a trial Everybody found a stone to throw And nobody stopped to ask why [Pre-Chorus — strings slowly enter] I screamed beneath the laughter But nobody seemed to hear I just wanted to be liked I just wanted someone near You can break a heart Without ever breaking skin [Chorus — drums and bass enter; powerful but controlled female vocal] Words can cut like thunder Words can leave an invisible scar You never know how far they travel When you say them from afar You call it just a joke You call it just a game But somebody’s carrying those words Long after you forget their name I was born from a rumor And buried by the crowd You never heard my final cry Because you were laughing out loud [Verse 2 — darker guitar; more wounded and frustrated] Comments in the hallway Tearing through my skin Verbal lightning striking Again and yet again Gym became a battlefield The locker room a cage Every awkward inch of me Became another joke they’d wage They called me poor and unwanted They mocked the clothes I wore “Single-wide,” “double-wide” Then they laughed and piled on more They made the ugly duckling Believe she’d always be The girl nobody wanted The girl nobody’d see [Pre-Chorus — rising intensity; layered harmonies] Soon I was eating lunch alone With darkness for a friend Every whispered “loser” Became another weight to bear I kept asking in the mirror “What’s so wrong with me?” When all I really wanted Was somebody to see me [Bridge — music drops to piano and cello; stunned, almost spoken vocal] And then one morning There was an empty chair No books upon the desk No more laughter there And suddenly the hallway Didn’t sound the same The whispers became silence And silence knew her name Her mother held her picture Her father couldn’t speak They lost their only daughter While the world kept moving on And somewhere in a bedroom I stared at the screen And reread the words we’d written About the girl we’d helped break [Final Verse — cold, restrained confession] She was born from a rumor But she was someone’s child Someone’s little girl Someone’s reason to smile And I was there among them I laughed along with them We thought we were just laughing We thought the hurt was noise But cruelty leaves a mark That doesn’t need a blade It follows every choice you make And never fades away One day you’ll see that empty chair And finally wonder why Not because revenge was paid But because you’ll remember what you did [Final Refrain — restrained, gradually intensifying] Words can cut like thunder Words can leave a scar You never know how far they travel When you say them from afar So before you throw another stone Before you join in with the crowd Remember there’s a human heart Beneath the face you’re laughing at now I was born from a rumor But I was so much more Than the cruelest words You ever let fall I was someone’s daughter I just wanted to be someone’s friend I was a life that mattered Before the rumor had its end [Outro — everything drops away; almost whispered] I was born from a rumor… But I died from your rumors [long pause] Someone could have said: “Come sit with me.” [final piano note]
