[Intro – muted guitar, tight bass, restrained drums] Sit up straight Don’t make a scene Say what you’re told Say what you mean No— Say what they want you to mean [Verse 1 – quiet, controlled vocals] Mother bought new curtains Said the room could use some light Charlie carried in the boxes Asked if everything felt right I said, “Yes, thank you” Like a daughter should He smiled like we were getting somewhere I let him think we could There’s a photograph beside me From a life across the sea You all call this a beginning Like it didn’t bury me [Pre-Chorus – tension rising] I fold my anger into corners Keep my answers small and clean You mistake me for forgiving Just because I don’t make a scene [Chorus – guitars erupt] I’m a good girl with a closed fist Nails buried in my hand I smile through every dinner While you build your better plan I’m a good girl with a closed fist Every word behind my teeth You moved on before I moved here Now you’re asking me for peace I bow my head I bite my tongue You think the worst is over But I’m not done [Verse 2 – heavier rhythm] He remembers how I take my coffee Never sits in Father’s chair Never tries to call me daughter Like that proves he should be there And I hate him for his patience For the way he gives me space For making Mother laugh so softly With no guilt upon her face Maybe that’s the part that hurts me He has given me no fight He is kind enough to make me feel Like I’m the one who isn’t right [Pre-Chorus – sharper, angrier] You say grief is not a prison You say love can still remain But you crossed an ocean smiling While I dragged along the chain [Chorus – rawer vocals] I’m a good girl with a closed fist Nails buried in my hand I say, “Welcome,” say, “Good evening” While you erase what we had planned I’m a good girl with a closed fist Red thread wrapped around my skin You say no one is replacing him Then why did you let someone in? I bow my head I bite my tongue You think that means I understand It only means I haven’t screamed yet [Post-Chorus – clipped, building chant] One year One house One stranger on the couch One year One flight And suddenly you’re all right One year Too soon His ashes in the room One year That’s all Before you let the old life fall [Bridge – instruments drop; vulnerable vocals] Mother, did you cry when I was sleeping? Did you hold his clothes alone? Did you take that job in Brightstone Because Japan no longer felt like home? Did you wait until you couldn’t? Did you break where I could not see? Did you find him because you missed Dad— Or because you needed to be free? [Brief silence] I don’t know which answer hurts less [Bridge Part II – full band slowly returning] Grandma says that love is not a grave That the living cannot stay That remembering who we lost Doesn’t mean we throw our lives away But I’m scared that if I loosen Even one thread in my hand He’ll become a framed remembrance In a house he never planned So I hold on until it cuts me And I call the bleeding love Because anger feels more faithful Than admitting life goes on [Final Chorus – explosive, voice breaking] I’m a good girl with an open fist See the blood across my palm I have carried all this fury Just to keep his memory warm I’m your good girl, almost breaking I’m the silence in the hall I’m the daughter you brought with you Who was never asked at all You moved his picture Changed the view Found a life that could continue And I hate you And I love you And I don’t know what to do [Final refrain – defiant] So let me shout Let me be cruel Let me say the things no good girl should Let me grieve Without your plan Without pretending I understand I’m not polite I’m not all right I’m sixteen years old And tired of being quiet [Outro – guitars fade into a low pulse] Charlie says, “Goodnight, Haruka” From the other side of the door I almost say it back Almost But not tonight
