# WHO AM I [Verse 1 – male, low grainy baritone, half-spoken; hard consonant attacks, falling endings, slight rhythmic drag] Open my eyes. Same room. Same face. Same little smile I give away. “I'm fine.” Easy answer. Works every time. I say what they want. Wear what fits. Laugh when I'm meant to. [Breath.] Then somewhere between morning and midnight... I lose my voice. --- [Pre-Chorus – spoken-to-sung; downward scoop, delayed consonants, breath cut] Tell me... where did I go? [Airy ghost] Where did I go... --- [Chorus – clean higher register; chest-to-head flip on “who”, stretched vowels, low octave shadow] Who am I... when no one sees me? Who am I... when the room goes quiet? I know the face. I know the lines. I just don't know... which parts are mine. [Low shadow] Mine... [Lead – soft] Who am I? --- [Verse 2 – faster spoken-sung; clipped attacks, vocal fry, phrases pushed ahead of beat] Mirror on the wall. I look. Look away. Too much inside for one clean sentence. I was a kid who wanted somewhere. Wanted more. Wanted loud. Now I know the schedule. Know the names. Know how to say the right thing... at the right time. [Small breath.] Funny. I got so good at fitting in... I disappeared. --- [FAST SPOKEN-RAP – compressed syllables, uneven bars, hard consonants, sudden dead stops] Smile here. Nod there. Say yes. Don't stare. Don't make it awkward. Don't take up space. Keep it moving. Keep it tidy. Keep everybody comfortable. [Quicker] Be useful. Be easy. Be anything— [Dead stop.] except me. --- [Pre-Chorus 2 – suddenly slow; low chest voice rising into melody] When the front door closes... everything goes quiet. No audience. No script. Just this voice... trying to come back. [Ghost] Come back... --- [Chorus 2 – stronger high register; slight rasp on attacks, altered timing] Who am I... when no one sees me? Who am I... when I don't have to perform? I know the face. I know the lines. But tonight... I'm drawing outside them. [High ghost] Outside... [Lead] Who am I? --- [Bridge – stripped; intimate low register, broken phrasing, delayed vibrato] Maybe I don't need one perfect answer. Maybe I just need one honest minute. No mirror. No crowd. No “I'm fine.” [Pause.] Just... me. [Clean high note] Me. --- [Final Chorus – low opening fractures into clear high register; changing phrase lengths, low shadow] Who am I... when no one sees me? [Low shadow] Who... [Lead – high] Who am I... when I'm not being somebody else? I know the face. I know the lines. Now I can hear... what I was trying to hide. [Ghost] Trying to hide... [Lead – sustained clean high note] Maybe this... is really me. [Beat cuts.] Who am I? [Silence.] Maybe... me. --- [Outro – close mic, low baritone, softened consonants, falling pitch] Open my eyes. Same room. Different face. [Breath.] Mine.
