I still know the words

[Immediate Twin-Guitar Riff] [Verse 1] Three chords leaking from a dented car At the light by the twenty-four-hour store. Two blown speakers, one cheap refrain— Still knew exactly where to hurt. A bag of groceries on the passenger seat, My life reduced to things that work. Then the downbeat hit— my shoulders squared, and my mouth remembered every word. [Pre-Chorus] I know what it cost. I know who left. I know how a promise gets dressed as regret. But one old note and every nerve stood up— like the body kept the faith the mind gave up! [Chorus] I STILL KNOW THE WORDS! Even when I don’t believe them! I STILL KNOW THE WORDS! My whole body still repeats them! I dropped the flag! I broke the spell! I know the promise never worked! But when that old refrain comes back— I STILL KNOW THE WORDS! [Post-Chorus] I STILL KNOW— I STILL KNOW! [Melodic Guitar Turn] [Verse 2] We didn’t lose it in one dramatic scene. No final speech. No traitor crowned. One sold the amp to cover rent. One learned to keep her voice down. I got good at softer words— at saying “later,” “maybe,” “fine.” We filed the teeth out of the vow one harmless piece at a time. Funny how surrender sounds when everybody says it slow. Nobody admits the song is dead. They just stop turning up to the show. [Pre-Chorus 2] I can name every lie that the chorus dressed in gold. I can tell you which brave promise disappeared when bills came due. But if I’m empty, why did my whole chest move? Why did my mouth start singing before I told it to? [Chorus] I STILL KNOW THE WORDS! Even when I don’t believe them! I STILL KNOW THE WORDS! My whole body still repeats them! I dropped the flag! I broke the spell! I know the promise never worked! But when that old refrain comes back— I STILL KNOW THE WORDS! [Post-Chorus] I STILL KNOW— I STILL KNOW! [Instrumental — Harmonized Lead] [Bridge] Maybe it was never truth. Maybe we were scared kids making armor out of volume, making futures out of four chords. Maybe every word was borrowed. Maybe every vow was wrong. But I won’t crawl back to the promise. I won’t polish up the lie. And I won’t shame the girl who sang it. That cheap, impossible chorus kept her here long enough to become me. [Brief Silence] [Breakdown] I OUTGREW THE ANSWER— NOT THE NEED! THE SONG WAS WRONG— BUT IT KEPT ME BREATHING! BURN THE BANNER! KEEP THE NERVE! I DON’T BELIEVE IT— I! STILL! KNOW! THE WORDS! [Soaring Twin-Guitar Solo] [Final Chorus] I STILL KNOW THE WORDS! Even though I don’t believe them! I STILL KNOW THE WORDS! Now I know why I still need them! I dropped the flag! I broke the spell! I left the old world in the dirt! But when that old refrain comes back— I STILL KNOW THE WORDS! [Final Post-Chorus] THE FAITH IS GONE! THE PULSE STILL KNOWS! I STILL KNOW— I STILL KNOW— I STILL KNOW THE WORDS! [Outro] Red light. Green light. The stranger drove away. I missed my turn. Kept singing anyway.