Down to the Core

DOWN TO THE CORE [Intro - Spoken] I kept telling everybody I was fine. Truth is… I was tired of help. Tired of prayer. Tired of hearing I needed God. So I decided I’d fix myself. [Demonic whisper] You don’t need Him. You’ve got you. [Verse 1] I learned to smile when I wanted to break, Learned how to lie with a steady face. I told everybody, “I’ll be alright,” Then fought with myself every night. I wore my pride like a second skin, Wouldn’t let anybody see within. I said, “I’m strong, I stand alone,” While something inside me turned to stone. I prayed less. I drank more. Stopped asking what I was running for. I shut God out, then cursed the dark, When I was the one who killed the spark. [Pre-Chorus] “I don’t need saving,” I kept saying, While everything in me was slowly caving. “I’ve got control,” I told my soul, While losing piece after piece of it whole. [Chorus] I CAN’T DO THIS ON MY OWN. I BUILT THESE WALLS AND CALLED THEM HOME. I pushed You out, then blamed the night When I could no longer see the light. God, I don’t know where to start. I buried You under a hardened heart. If You still want what’s left of me, Take every lie. Take everything. Take me down… DOWN TO THE CORE. [Verse 2] I poured another drink to slow my head, Chased empty bodies into empty beds. For a little while I could pretend I wasn’t falling apart again. I wanted touch. I wanted heat. Anything that made me feel complete. But morning came with the same old ache, Same dead eyes, same tired face. I swallowed something just to sleep, But sleep never touched what was buried deep. I could numb my hands, slow my breath, But couldn’t silence what lived in my chest. [Demonic whisper] Another drink. Another body. Another pill. Anything but getting still. [Breakdown] Then came the nights I didn’t want morning, Wondering if anyone would notice I was gone. I wasn’t chasing death. I was begging for the pain to stop. [Demonic whisper] Then stop it. Nobody needs you. Nobody sees you. [Male] No. [Demonic whisper] Then why are you still here? [Male] I don’t know. [Whisper] Exactly. [Verse 4] I hated myself for needing a drink, Hated the thoughts I was scared to think. Hated the beds. Hated the shame. Hated the man who carried my name. Hated the pills. Hated the lies. Hated the dead look behind my eyes. Still I wouldn’t kneel before Your throne. Pride said, “I’d rather break alone.” And God… I almost did. [Breakdown 2] I tried the bottle. It left me dry. I chased desire. It sold me lies. I tried the pills. I chased the high. I tried everything to survive. I tried anger. I tried control. I tried hiding from my own soul. Every road I tried before Led me back down to the core. [Demonic voice] Don’t call Him now. You said you didn’t need Him. [Male] GOD… WHERE ARE YOU?! [Demonic whisper] Right where you left Him. [Male] Jesus… [Whisper] Don’t. [Male] JESUS! [Chorus 2] I CAN’T DO THIS ON MY OWN. I’M DONE DEFENDING THIS BROKEN THRONE. Take every wall. Take every lie. Take every reason I learned to hide. Take the drink. Take the bed. Take the pills inside my head. Take every thought that whispered death. Put Your life back in my chest. God… I’m done. Take me down… DOWN TO THE CORE. [Spoken Interlude] Someone once told me, “You’re like an onion in the hands of God.” “God peels layer after layer until He reaches the core.” Pride. Anger. Addiction. Lust. Fear. Shame. Everything I used to hide underneath. “Then He puts the layers back. Not yours. His.” God… I finally understand. [Bridge - Female] Layer by layer, take it away. Every disguise. Every mistake. Layer by layer, pull it apart. Get underneath the hardened heart. [Male] Peel off the anger under my skin. Peel off the shame I buried within. Peel off the bottle. Peel off the lust. Peel off everything I learned to trust. Take the lie beneath it all, That needing You made me small. [Female] Deeper. [Male] Take the pride beneath the pain. [Female] Deeper. [Male] Take the wound beneath the shame. [Male, whisper] There I am. No bottle. No bed. No pill. No mask. Just me. [Female] At the core. [Rebuild Bridge] Layer by layer, build me again. Not who I was. Not who I’ve been. Put courage where fear used to stay. Put truth where I lied every day. Put mercy where anger once grew. Put faith where I ran from You. [Final Chorus] I DON’T WANT TO DO THIS ON MY OWN. I DON’T WANT THIS BROKEN THRONE. Burn every kingdom built from pride. Leave no place for me to hide. Layer by layer, pull me through. Take what’s dead and make it new. Take the bottle. Take the lust. Take the ashes. Take the dust. Take every lie I made my truth. Take everything that pulled me from You. I thought surrender meant losing control… But You were taking me TO THE CORE. [Outro] I thought I had to be strong enough to come back to God. I didn’t. I just had to come back. [Female] Layer by layer… [Demonic whisper] You’ll need me again. [Male] No. I needed God the whole time.