Barrett Kolt - Emptiness Inside of Me

There’s an emptiness inside of me I’ve been doing my best to avoid I cover it up with worn-down smiles And noise I pretend I enjoy Once, words could fill that hollow space Like voices in an old oak room But now they slip like smoke through cracks And leave me talkin’ to the gloom There’s an emptiness inside of me That I choose to ignore I bury it down, keep movin’ around Just tryin’ not to feel it anymore I chase it off with small escapes Afternoon beers and second plates Late night cocktails, strangers’ laughs Early morning Bloody Mary haze And every handshake, every glance Is borrowed breath to help me stand Just enough of someone else To hold the echo back again There’s an emptiness inside of me That I’ve been tryin’ to ignore But it’s got claws beneath my skin And it’s howlin’ behind every door It’s got vicious teeth and jagged hands Tears me up like I’m made of sand But you won’t see it on my face I’ve learned to hold it all with grace You won’t hear it in my voice I’ve made the silence feel like choice There’s an emptiness inside of me That I’ve done what I can to endure But it’s part of me, it’s walked with me Through every lock and every floor Yeah, the emptiness inside of me Ain’t something you can cure But it’s mine, and I’ll carry it Right up to Death’s door