I lived a life for others, wore the faces they preferred Became the man they needed while my own voice went unheard I followed every compass that was never truly mine And lost the quiet calling I kept buried deep inside I thought that being chosen Meant becoming what they saw But what I should have been Is the truth I kept avoiding The fire I kept dimming So I’d fit inside their lines What I should have been Was the man I knew in shadows The one I always silenced Just to keep the world aligned I walked the roads of duty with a heart that felt misplaced Pretending I was certain while my courage slipped away And now I see the distance between who I was and am A stranger in the mirror holding life with shaking hands I thought that being quiet Would protect me from the fall But what I should have been Is the truth I kept avoiding The fire I kept dimming So I’d fit inside their lines What I should have been Was the man I knew in shadows The one I always silenced Just to keep the world aligned If I could speak to who I was When I first betrayed my soul I’d tell him being honest Is the only thing that makes you whole What I should have been Is the voice I kept in hiding The dream I kept disguising In a life that wasn’t mine What I should have been Is the heartbeat I abandoned Now I’m learning how to find him While there’s still a little time
