(Soft piano, airy pads, slow heartbeat rhythm) Verse 1 We counted coins like constellations On a chipped and borrowed plate Mama said, “Don’t chase the heavens, They don’t open for our gate” But I stitched my dreams in silence From the threads of what we lacked Wore a dress of second chances With a ribbon down my back Pre-Chorus I was hunger learning language I was rain that wouldn’t fall I was knocking on a doorway No one named at all Chorus Then the doors flew wide like summer And the night poured into me All the glitter, all the thunder All the hands that set me free Now I’m singing in a cage Made of velvet, made of light I don’t know the rules to play But I love the way it feels tonight Verse 2 He arrived like distant music I had heard but never seen With a smile that knew my story Before I knew what it could mean Silk and laughter wrapped around me Like a language I could speak Every “no” I’d ever swallowed Turned to “yes” upon my cheek Pre-Chorus I was barefoot in a ballroom I was fire dressed as grace I was learning how to shimmer In a borrowed kind of place Chorus And the doors stay wide like summer While the night pours into me All the glitter, all the thunder All the sins that taste like free Now I’m dancing in a cage Made of gold and painted sky I don’t know which parts are mine But I like the way they shine Bridge Mama’s voice is in the mirror Soft as dust upon my sleeve Says, “A bird can love her prison If it sings what she believes” I tilt my head, I keep on singing Feathers dipped in borrowed glow If this is wrong, it feels like flying And I’m not ready to say no Final Chorus Let the doors stay wide like summer Let the night keep pouring through I’ll wear every shade of wonder Even if it isn’t true I’m a heartbeat in a cage Made of laughter, made of lies I don’t know who I should be— But I love the way I rise (Outro: soft hum, fading piano, distant echo of laughter)
