[Verse 1] Everybody sees the highlight reel The polished smile, the nerves concealed Standing tall beneath the neon glow While fighting battles no one knows Every compliment feels borrowed somehow Like I don't deserve the here and now A thousand voices in my head agree One day they'll see through me [Pre-Chorus] But the higher that I climb The louder grows the noise inside [Chorus] This paper crown is getting heavy Everybody says I'm ready But I still hear the doubts out in the dark I'm tired of pretending lately Maybe I was never faking Maybe all these scars are how we earned our stars Let it fall Let it break Let the truth come into view This paper crown Was never what made me [Post-Chorus] Oh-oh-oh I don't need the paper crown Oh-oh-oh I was enough before I found it [Verse 2] Every step I took was built on fear Every victory brought me here Not because I never lost my way Because I kept showing up each day The ghosts I carried all these years Turned into fuel, not souvenirs And every crack I tried to hide away Lets a little light escape [Pre-Chorus] Now the higher that I climb The quieter grows the voice inside [Chorus] This paper crown is getting lighter I can finally see it clearer I was never meant to be somebody else Spent my whole life chasing shadows Building walls around my failures While everybody fought the same war themselves Let it fall Let it break Let the truth come into view This paper crown Was never what made me [Bridge] Maybe confidence was never certainty Maybe courage is just moving with the fear Maybe all the people that I envied Were standing exactly where I am right here [Final Chorus] This paper crown is floating away now No more trying to fake how Perfect I should look beneath the light Every scar became a roadmap Every doubt became a soundtrack Leading me to who I am tonight Let it fall Let it break Let the whole world finally see This paper crown Was never what made me [Outro] Oh-oh-oh I don't need the paper crown Oh-oh-oh I was enough before I found it
