0nyra - Nobody Asked Twice

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STUDIO

And it's not that they don't care,
It's that I made it easy not to see
I gift-wrapped all my damage
In a voice that sounds like someone who's still free.

Nobody asked twice, nobody leaned in,
Nobody held the silence long enough to hear
I was drowning in the right tone of voice,
And they thanked me for being so clear.
Nobody asked twice, nobody stayed,
Nobody noticed what the answer cost
They took the easy version home with them
And left the rest of me to rot.

My best friend calls on every birthday,
Twenty seconds past the usual time
She asks me how I'm holding up
And I perform like I've rehearsed the line.
I could say it, I could open up the floor,
I could let the ugly spill across the phone
But she'd go quiet and I'd feel the gap
And then I'd spend the night apologising for my own bones.

So I keep it clean, I keep it brief,
I make the mess sound philosophical
Turn my grief into a thing they can digest
And swallow down like something botanical.

I don't want a rescue, that's the sick part
I just wanted someone to say that answer wasn't good enough!
I wanted them to hear the pause before I spoke
and know the pause was where the truth lived all along!
But they smiled and I smiled back
and the conversation moved on.

I've been so convincing I convinced myself,
Built a version so polished she could pass for well
She answers every question like a gift,
She makes the worried faces leave,
She is my greatest trick,
She is everything they need,
And she is no one,
She is nothing,
She is just the easy thing to believe!

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I learned the pitch that puts them at ease, The smile that lands before they look too long Practised breathing through my teeth So the shaking wouldn't bleed into my song. They said you're looking well, you're looking bright, I said I know, I've been sleeping more Didn't mention that I sit up in the dark And press my back against the bedroom door. And it's not that they don't care, It's that I made it easy not to see I gift-wrapped all my damage In a voice that sounds like someone who's still free. Nobody asked twice, nobody leaned in, Nobody held the silence long enough to hear I was drowning in the right tone of voice, And they thanked me for being so clear. Nobody asked twice, nobody stayed, Nobody noticed what the answer cost They took the easy version home with them And left the rest of me to rot. My best friend calls on every birthday, Twenty seconds past the usual time She asks me how I'm holding up And I perform like I've rehearsed the line. I could say it, I could open up the floor, I could let the ugly spill across the phone But she'd go quiet and I'd feel the gap And then I'd spend the night apologising for my own bones. So I keep it clean, I keep it brief, I make the mess sound philosophical Turn my grief into a thing they can digest And swallow down like something botanical. Nobody asked twice, nobody leaned in, Nobody held the silence long enough to hear I was drowning in the right tone of voice, And they thanked me for being so clear. Nobody asked twice, nobody stayed, Nobody noticed what the answer cost They took the easy version home with them And left the rest of me to rot. I don't want a rescue, that's the sick part I just wanted someone to say that answer wasn't good enough! I wanted them to hear the pause before I spoke and know the pause was where the truth lived all along! But they smiled and I smiled back and the conversation moved on. I've been so convincing I convinced myself, Built a version so polished she could pass for well She answers every question like a gift, She makes the worried faces leave, She is my greatest trick, She is everything they need, And she is no one, She is nothing, She is just the easy thing to believe! Nobody asked twice, nobody leaned in, Nobody held the silence long enough to hear I was drowning in the right tone of voice, And they thanked me for being so clear. Nobody asked twice, nobody stayed, Nobody noticed what the answer cost They took the easy version home with them… …and I let them.

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