(Intro — Spoken Word, Soft Piano) [Soft piano. A single voice, intimate, honest.] They said I was different. They said I was less. They gave me a label. They gave me a test. But I am not broken. I am not wrong. I am a different melody In the same beautiful song. (Piano builds. Strings enter softly.) (Verse 1 — The Struggle) I learned to mask before I learned to speak I hid my truth to fit their mold I watched them laugh, I watched them leave I learned to make myself small They said "just focus, just be still" But my brain was fire, my heart was steel I couldn't sit, I couldn't wait They said "you're wrong, you're just too late" I cried in corners they couldn't see I wondered what was wrong with me But somewhere deep, a voice stayed true Said "different isn't less than you" (Cello enters. Drums soft. Building.) (Pre-Chorus — Rising) They gave me labels, gave me names But labels cannot hold a flame And every time they tried to break I found a way, I found a way To rise, to stand, to speak, to be The full and honest version of me No selective filter, no disguise I'm done with hiding, done with lies (Strings swell. Drums build.) (Chorus — Soaring, Triumphant) Different, not less! That's what I am! A different mind, a different plan They tried to change me, tried to break But I am not a mistake! Different, not less! Hear me now! We don't need their selective filter We need equality, not their pity We need space to be who we are Every mind is a shining star (Full band. Choir enters. Drums pound.) (Verse 2 — The Win) Simone Biles on the floor They said her ADHD was a flaw But she turned it into gold The greatest gymnast the world has known Greta Thunberg, voice so clear They called her different, called her weird She said "my autism is a superpower" And she changed the world in her own hour Temple Grandin, different, not less She saw the world in ways they couldn't guess She changed the way we treat the beast And proved that different minds can feast (Strings soar. Drums pound. Choir swells.) (Pre-Chorus — Building) They gave me labels, gave me names But labels cannot hold a flame And every time they tried to break I found a way, I found a way To rise, to stand, to speak, to be The full and honest version of me No selective filter, no disguise I'm done with hiding, done with lies (Chorus — Explosive, Anthemic) Different, not less! That's what I am! A different mind, a different plan They tried to change me, tried to break But I am not a mistake! Different, not less! Hear me now! We don't need their selective filter We need equality, not their pity We need space to be who we are Every mind is a shining star (Choir: Different, not less... Different, not less...) (Bridge — Stripped, Intimate) [Piano and voice only. Whispered.] They say "if you've met one of us" "You've met just one, not all of us" We are not a monolith We are millions of different gifts Some of us speak, some of us don't Some of us can, some of us won't But every single one of us Deserves to live, deserves to trust (Beat returns. Strings build. Drums pound.) We don't want your pity, don't want your fear We want a world where we belong here Not selective filter, not your rules We are not your broken tools We are scientists, artists, dreamers, kings We are everything that your silence brings We are the future, we are the past We are the first and we are the last (Full band explodes. Choir enters. Drums pound.) DIFFERENT, NOT LESS! DIFFERENT, NOT LESS! WE ARE NOT BROKEN! WE ARE NOT WEAK! WE ARE THE VOICES THAT YOU REFUSED TO HEAR! (Final Chorus — Massive, Singalong) Different, not less! That's what I am! A different mind, a different plan They tried to change me, tried to break But I am not a mistake! Different, not less! Hear me now! We don't need their selective filter We need equality, not their pity We need space to be who we are Every mind is a shining star (Choir: Different, not less... Different, not less...) WE ARE NOT YOUR LABELS! WE ARE NOT YOUR SHAME! WE ARE NOT YOUR PITY! WE ARE NOT YOUR GAME! WE ARE DIFFERENT! WE ARE NOT LESS! WE ARE DIFFERENT! WE ARE NOT LESS! (Full orchestra. Choir. Drums pound. Strings soar. Vocal ad-libs.) (Outro — Stripped, Spoken Word, Whispered) [Piano returns. Choir hums underneath. Single voice.] They said I was different. They said I was less. But I am not broken. I am not wrong. I am a different melody In the same beautiful song. Different, not less. Different, not less. We are different. We are not less. (Piano holds one final chord. Choir hums. Silence.)
