Verse 1 — soft, distant, echoing (school bells and children chanting "sit down raise your hand, stand straight, speak when you are called") Wearing copper keys like dog tags Under thrift-store shirts and skin, Let ourselves into empty houses No one was waiting in. The TV raised the silence, The fridge light knew our names, learning to heat up dinner And swallow down the ache. Children of empty houses, graffiti walls and dust, left to fend alone strangers never trust Pre-Chorus — intensity and speed build when the school bell rang, stepping into their lines, Where every hallway had a kingdom, And every kid had a side. Chorus — emotional rock crescendo always wanting to escape, From the labels and the stares, From the mirrors in bedrooms From the masks kids forced to wear. We wanted to run, With our Walkmans screaming loud, Past the lockers, past the bleachers, Past the hands that pushed us down. We weren’t broken, we were burning, We weren’t lost, we were awake. 90 latch keyed children Looking for a way To escape. Verse 2 — heavier pulse begins There were cliques carved into concrete, Like borders no one crossed, Jocks beneath the Friday lights, Geeks paying every cost. Preps with perfect collars, Skaters grinding through the shame, Headbangers in black T-shirts Trying not to hide the pain. Some learned how to sparkle, Some learned how to win, Some buried every breakdown Behind a perfect little grin. but some of us went sideways, FLIPPED THE SYSTEM OFF AND RAN, Chasing smoke and midnight music Just to feel like we had a chance. Pre-Chorus — Choir rally chant The pressure wasn’t only From the kids inside those walls, It came from desks and chalkboards, From the bells, the rules, the halls. They said, “Sit down. Raise your hand. Stand straight. Speak when you are called. Learn the lesson. Keep your place, NO More Laughter In The Halls. Bridge — quiet, haunting at first Coming home to empty rooms, With cassette tapes as replaced prayers, Let the guitars split the darkness Because the silence wasn’t fair. Children endoctrinated to be obedient, Told to color inside the lines, Told self worth was in a grade book, Told to dream was wasting time. Breakdown — whispered, then rising rage We were not their perfect children. We were not their quiet class. We were not their little soldiers Marching single file past. We were not the names they gave us. We were not the shame they made. We were drums beneath the floorboards. We were breaking down the cage.. Final Chorus — emotional fast paced explosion We wanted to escape, From the system and the stares, From the mirrors, from the labels, From pretending were not scared. We wanted to run, With the volume up all the way, Till our headphones Carried every scream away. Never broken, Always burning, Never lost, eyes wide open and awake. 90's latched up children, Raised by static, rules, and rage. (We wanted to escape.) (We wanted to escape.) Outro — fading, eerie, almost spoken Now the keys are all rusted, And the tapes don’t play the same, But somewhere in the static, still remembering from where we came. Never just the inside riots. Never just the forced shame. We were the latched key children Trying to escape their twisted games. We wanted to escape. (no more masks, no more lies) We wanted to escape. (no looking back, with open eyes) we wanted. to escape.
