(Intro: Warm, felt-picked acoustic guitar with the subtle background noise of light rain) (Verse 1: Baritone vocals, gentle and very close to the mic) I’ve walked these streets in someone else’s coat, A thousand lives I’ve lived, all by rote. A different name for every town I’ve seen, A hollow bridge to where I might have been. I put on the traveler, I put on the king, But I never felt the weight of a single thing. Just dust on my boots and rain on my face, Looking for a man I can’t seem to trace. (Chorus: Soft piano and a deep cello enter discreetly) I’m a collection of ghosts in a crowded room, Building a home in a stranger’s gloom. Oh, I’ve worn the masks until the skin turned thin, Trying to find where the "me" should begin. Searching for hope in a world made of clay, But the versions of me just keep walking away. (Verse 2: A very light kick drum pulse, like a heartbeat) I wore the smile of a man who was free, While the prisoner inside was screaming at me. Disguised as a winner, disguised as a saint, Covering the cracks with a fresh coat of paint. But the hope started fading, the well started drying, I was tired of the masks, tired of the lying. Success was a shadow I could never hold, In a story of silver that felt more like coal. (Bridge: The strings swell slightly in volume and emotion) No more running from the eyes in the glass, Watching the parade of the phantoms pass. I stripped off the velvet, I stripped off the gold, Ready for the truth to finally unfold. (Outro: The music settles; only the guitar and the sound of rain remain) Then the rain washed the makeup right off of my soul, And the pieces of static finally felt whole. I sat by the road and I let the world be, In the quiet of nothing... I finally found me. No more disguises... Just peace. (Guitar ends on an open chord, fading out with the rain)
