[Instrumental Interlude] [Verse 1 - restrained emotional delivery] [soft clean guitar picking] Peel it off, it’s cracking skin, Plastic smiles you’re living in, Mirror says you’re doing fine, But your eyes don’t read the line. Static hum inside your head, Words you swallowed, never said, Every laugh a little late, Every breath a paperweight. [Pre-Chorus - slight pitch imperfections] You smile like it’s mandatory, But pain keeps rewriting the story. [Chorus - raw emotional delivery] [power chords] [full drum energy] [wide stereo guitars] Take the mask off, let it fall, Hear the echo down the hall, All that fear you tried to save Only turned into a cage. Take the mask off, let them see You’re as cracked and real as me, In a world that screams “be strong,” Being broken isn’t wrong. Being broken isn’t wrong. [Instrumental] [Verse 2 - quiet grunge verse] [soft clean guitar picking] [minimal drums] [subdued bass] [intimate vocal delivery] [close mic vocal] [lo-fi ambience] [restrained emotion] Neon nights and heavy air, Everybody’s self-repair, Tape the edges, play the part, Keep the noise away from heart. Dirty floors and quiet dread, All the things you never said, You’re not empty you’re just tired, Running wires through the fire. [Pre-Chorus - slight pitch imperfections] You smile like it’s mandatory, But pain keeps rewriting the story. [Chorus - raw emotional delivery] [power chords] [full drum energy] [wide stereo guitars] Take the mask off, let it fall, Hear the echo down the hall, All that fear you tried to save Only turned into a cage. Take the mask off, let them see You’re as cracked and real as me, In a world that screams “be strong,” Being broken isn’t wrong. [Bridge - experimental sound design] Noise in the ceiling, cracks in the light, We learned to disappear in plain sight, But truth is louder the more you pretend, The walls don’t break they bend. [Final Chorus - bigger] Take the mask off, watch it break Every breath a risk you take, Fear was never meant to stay, Just a storm that lost its way. Take the mask off, feel the air You were never meant to wear All the silence, all that weight You’re not late. You’re not late. [Scream] You’re not late. You’re not late. You’re not late. You’re not late. You’re not late. You’re not late. You’re not late. [melodic interlude] [whistle] [Epic instrumental outro]
