don't own me anymore (original)

[Intro — quiet, atmospheric] I learned to hold my breath Before I learned to scream You made a prison out of silence And called it keeping me safe [Verse 1] I learned to read the room By the footsteps in the hall Every word could turn to fire Every shadow felt ten feet tall You told me I was worthless Then asked why I was so cold You broke me down in pieces Just to watch me lose control I wore your words like scars Buried underneath my skin Every time I tried to leave You found a way to pull me in [Pre-Chorus] You made me doubt my own reflection Made me question what was real But somewhere underneath the damage There was still a heart that beat [Chorus] You don't own me anymore You don't get to tell me who I am I survived what you were waiting for I crawled out from beneath your hands You can keep the words you used to break me Keep the lies you made me believe You took enough of my life already You don't get the rest of me [Verse 2] You knew exactly where to hurt And exactly what to say You could turn an apology Into another kind of chain I learned to hide the bruises Learned to laugh when I was scared Learned that love could look like violence When nobody else was there You called control protection Called possession something real But love was never supposed to Make me afraid of how I feel [Pre-Chorus] Now every scar has a story But none of them belong to you You don't get to write my ending Just because you wrote what I went through [Chorus] You don't own me anymore You don't get to tell me who I am I survived what you were waiting for I crawled out from beneath your hands You can keep the words you used to break me Keep the lies you made me believe You took enough of my life already You don't get the rest of me [Bridge — stripped down, almost whispered] For years I thought surviving Was the best that I could do Then I looked into the mirror And I didn't see you I saw the person you couldn't destroy The voice you couldn't silence The heart you couldn't bury The life you couldn't take [Build] I am not your anger I am not your shame I am not the damage You tried to leave in my name I am not your weapon I am not your cage I am every piece you couldn't break Standing here today [Breakdown — screamed] YOU DON'T OWN ME! NOT MY MIND! NOT MY BODY! NOT MY SOUL! YOU DON'T OWN ME! [Final Chorus — huge, melodic] You don't own me anymore You don't get to tell me who I am I survived what you were waiting for And I finally understand You can keep the words you used to break me Keep the lies you made me believe You took enough of my life already You don't get the rest of me No, you don't get the rest of me [Outro — fading, vulnerable] I still carry what you gave me But I don't carry you The scars are mine The life is mine And now... So am I