# The Echo Doesn't Own Me *By Langley Corey* **[Intro – Whispered female vocals, distant violin, soft piano]** You're not here anymore... So why do I still hear you? Why does an empty room Still sound so much like you? *(Faint echo)* Not enough... Too much... Be quiet... No... That's not my voice. **[Verse 1 – Fragile, intimate vocals]** I still say sorry to the silence, Still flinch when nothing's wrong. Still hear you in the spaces Where I used to sing my songs. I second-guess my laughter, Keep my happiness on mute. Like somewhere in the shadows, I'm still answering to you. I catch myself rehearsing Every word before I speak. Like kindness is a privilege And love is something I must keep. But the house is finally quiet, And the door is finally closed. So why does every little mistake Still sound like words you chose? **[Pre-Chorus – Violin rising, trembling harmonies]** You don't have to raise your voice To make somebody small. Sometimes the cruelest kind of prison Doesn't have a lock at all. **[Chorus – Haunting, sweeping cinematic strings]** But the echo doesn't own me, And your words aren't who I am. I am more than all the pieces You were never meant to understand. You can haunt the empty hallways, You can linger in the rain. But you don't get to turn my heartbeat Into something filled with shame. I'm learning how to hear me, Through the ghosts of yesterday. The echo doesn't own me... And it's fading every day. **[Verse 2 – Dark folk guitar, vulnerable storytelling]** You told me I was difficult, Too emotional, too loud. So I learned to cry in bathrooms Where nobody was around. You called my dreams distractions, Made my music feel like noise. Till I couldn't tell the difference Between your judgment and my voice. I folded up my paintings, Put my melodies to bed. Built a thousand little cages From the things you'd always said. Now I'm finding little pieces Of the girl I used to know. In unfinished songs and sketches, In the places I wouldn't go. And some days I still believe you, For a moment, maybe two. But I'm learning every feeling Doesn't have to lead to you. **[Pre-Chorus – Soft strings becoming stronger]** I used to call it weakness When your words brought me to tears. Now I know it's just an echo From surviving all those years. **[Chorus – Layered female harmonies, aching violins]** And the echo doesn't own me, And your words aren't who I am. I am more than all the pieces You were never meant to understand. You can haunt the empty hallways, You can linger in the rain. But you don't get to turn my heartbeat Into something filled with shame. I'm learning how to hear me, Through the ghosts of yesterday. The echo doesn't own me... And it's fading every day. **[Bridge – Nearly silent, whispered confession]** Sometimes I hear you when I'm happy... Telling me it won't last. Sometimes I hear you when I'm proud... Reminding me of my past. Sometimes I hear you when I'm singing... Telling me to stop. *(Long pause)* But tonight... I'm going to finish the song. Even if my voice is shaking.
