I'm not okay [Verse 1 — Tight palm-muted guitar eighths, active bass, dry punchy drums. Male vocal: clipped, sarcastic, near-spoken midrange; short descending phrases.] Your key left a scratch across the frame I painted over it; it looks the same Swallow my pills with water from the tap Put on my coat, then put on an act The pharmacist remembers my name My oldest friends don't do the same [Pre-Chorus — Guitar chords open gradually; bass climbs. Vocal rises phrase by phrase, from restrained irritation to strained defiance. Cut band for a split beat before chorus.] They say, "Get up," as if I never tried As if these cracks were something I could hide If feeling fine's the finish line Who keeps on moving it each time? [Chorus — Explosive full-band downbeat. Wide distorted power chords, melodic octave-guitar hook, crashing cymbals. Shout-sing the title with an upward leap; rough gang echoes. Keep following lines tightly rhythmic and melodic.] I'm not okay! Don't call this damage destiny I'm not okay! Don't make a martyr out of me We fall behind, we miss the train We lose our place but keep our names I'm not okay! That doesn't make our lives a mistake [Verse 2 — Return to fast, choked guitar riff; melodic bass more prominent. Vocal slightly rougher and more biting, with syncopated consonant accents.] They posted Friday night without my face And tagged it "everyone" anyway My body keeps a calendar of pain The sun clocks in, I stay in bed again I hear the buses rumble down the block Still in my socks, still staring at the clock [Pre-Chorus — Snare and guitar accents build tension. Vocal climbs in short steps, growing impatient; hold the final word briefly, then sudden band cutoff.] They want a lesson, something neat to say A silver lining polished for display But pain is pain; it doesn't wear a crown I won't dress mine up to calm them down [Chorus — Full-volume return; punchy unison guitar hits, driving double-tracked rhythm guitars. Lead vocal frayed but tuneful, with rowdy gang responses.] I'm not okay! Don't call this damage destiny I'm not okay! Don't make a martyr out of me We fall behind, we miss the train We lose our place but keep our names I'm not okay! That doesn't make our lives a mistake [Bridge — Sudden drop to exposed dry vocal and quiet bass. No vocal theatrics. Intimate, almost spoken; low, exhausted register. Half-time floor toms enter midway, guitars slowly build feedback and tension.] I won't thank the fire for the house it burned Don't hand me lessons I never asked to learn If you're still awake, counting cracks upon the wall You don't have to say you're fine at all [Bridge Build — Vocal gradually rises, more urgent but never sentimental. Snare roll and distorted guitars swell. Brief dead silence before final chorus.] There's room beside me, leave your armor at the door We don't have to be who we were before No grand redemption, no parade We're still here, and that's enough today [Final Chorus — Maximum raw live-band energy. First line shouted by lead and crowd together. Bright octave lead over fast power chords; gang vocals answer the lead. Anthemic without polish, fierce rather than triumphant.] We're not okay! Don't call our damage destiny We're not okay! We owe you no apology We fall behind, we miss the train We lose our place but keep our names We're not okay! That doesn't make our lives a mistake [Final Shouts — Drums and guitars strike in unison on each declaration. Brief pause before final line; one hard full-band stop, no fade.] I'm not okay! We're not okay! And we don't have to be!
