[Verse 1] You never raised your voice at me You never had to make a scene You only moved the walls an inch Until the room was barely seen You learned the shape of every doubt And wore my trust like borrowed skin You never told me what to think You only taught me how to give in [Pre-Chorus] You call it love, you call it care You close the door, leave the key right there I swore I chose to stay While you kept moving me your way [Chorus] Velvet strings around my hands Soft enough to understand Every choice I thought I made Was another move you had arranged [Verse 2] You never pushed, you never pulled You made the cage look beautiful And every time I tried to leave You made me think the lock was me You knew exactly when to hurt And when to hold me afterward A little poison, little cure Just enough to make me yours [Pre-Chorus] You call it love, you call it care You light the fire, then meet me there I thanked you for the rain While you stood underneath my name [Chorus] Velvet strings around my hands Soft enough to understand Every choice I thought I made Was another move you had arranged [Verse 3] You gave me guilt and called it truth You gave me fear and called it proof You took my voice without a sound Then asked me why I wouldn’t speak But now I see the little seams Between your kindness and your needs Every apology you gave Was just another knot you made [Breakdown: whispered] Keep your heaven Keep your hell I found the door Behind your eyes [Build] I decide I decide I decide [Chorus: choral scream] No velvet strings around my hands No need for you to understand If every choice was yours before Then this one won’t be anymore [Outro] You never pushed, you never pulled You made the cage look beautiful But now I know what freedom means— The lock was never me.
