[Verse 1 - intimate close vocal, piano only] You named my shame Like it belonged to you Taught me to hide Every bruise, every truth Pulled all the light Out of my own skin I learned to be small So you could fit in [Pre-Chorus - faint sustained cello drone enters underneath] But I am not What you did to me I am the hands That set me free [Chorus - faint ghost harmony in the background, still sparse] These scars, they stay But they don't own me I carry every mark Like my own story You took so much But not my heartbeat I'm learning how to love Every part of me These scars, they stay But they don't own me [Verse 2 - pull back to bare piano and breath] Used to avert My eyes from the mirror Turn off the lights So I wouldn't see her The girl who survived What she never chose Now I trace the places Only I get to know [Pre-Chorus - cello drone returns] I am not broken I am me I get this life to choose Whoever I decide to be [Chorus - ghost harmony fuller now] These scars, they stay But they don't own me I carry every mark Like my own story You took so much But not my heartbeat I'm learning how to love Every part of me These scars, they stay But they don't own me [Bridge - emotional peak, layered ghost harmonies swell gently, cello rises, still no drums] I bless the skin You tried to erase I bless the voice You tried to replace I bless the fear That kept me alive I bless the day I chose to survive [Final Chorus - quieter, almost whispered, strip back to piano and breath] These scars, they stay But they don't own me I carry every mark Like my own story You took so much But not my heartbeat I'm learning how to love Every part of me These scars, they shine When I hold them gently I'm learning how to live Here inside my body [outro - voice almost a breath, vinyl crackle and room tone fade out] These scars, they shine But they don't own me
