(Hers)Hide-and-Seek Nails

**Shadow Claws** *(Full Female Ballad – Deeply sorrowful, introspective, and cathartic. Slow tempo ~68-78 BPM, minor key, piano-led with soft strings, atmospheric pads, and a subtle heartbeat pulse. Female vocals: rich, vulnerable, emotionally raw – Adele-level ache mixed with intimate fragility. Every line carries grief, survival, and quiet resilient strength.)* **[Intro]** *(Bare piano and faint heartbeat, whispered and weary – almost spoken-sung, heavy with exhaustion and memory)* You beat me down… I climbed back up… You pushed me back… I jump to the front… You buried me deep… And I climbed out… Nails and teeth… **[Verse 1]** The weight of their hands still echoes in my bones Whispers in the dark saying I should’ve stayed broke Target painted sharp on this fragile back of mine Running through the years, carrying guilt that wasn’t mine They hunted what was tender, called it love, called it right Fed me to the silence, taught me how to disappear from sight But something in the quiet refused to fade away A spark in the ruins that learned how to obey… the pain **[Pre-Chorus]** *(Voice gently rising, trembling with held-back emotion)* Every push, every shove, every time I hit the ground Something deeper stirred, refused to stay down **[Chorus]** You beat me down — I climbed back up! You pushed me back — I jumped to the front! You buried me deep — I clawed my way out… With nails and teeth! Nails and teeth! You thought the darkness would swallow me whole But I met my shadow and it claimed my soul You buried me deep… I came out with nails and teeth **[Verse 2]** That little girl you broke is gone, laid to rest in the soil Figurative and real, no more blood for your spoils I slipped into the hollow where the broken ones hide Found the parts they buried, the rage they tried to deny Ate me alive, the fear and the fight Till we fused in the fire, became one in the night No more chains on my heart, no more mask on my face The prey disappeared… and the hunter took her place **[Bridge]** *(Intimate and slow, voice dropping low before swelling with quiet power – pure sorrow turning into unbreakable resolve)* You came back around, thinking the grave would hold But the girl you devoured found her teeth in the cold We remember the beatings, the lies, the shame Every scar is a story, every tear is a name I’m not running no more from the dark in my veins We walk hand in hand through the fire and the rain The monster and the maiden, finally the same Rising from the dirt… forever changed **[Final Chorus]** *(Emotional peak – soaring yet still aching, layered harmonies building depth and catharsis)* You beat me down — I climbed back up! You pushed me back — I jumped to the front! You buried me deep — I clawed my way out… With nails and teeth! Nails and teeth! You thought you killed the light inside my chest But the shadow learned to breathe, to fight, to rest You buried me deep… I came out with nails and teeth! **[Outro]** *(Layered vocals, soft and fading – intimate, reflective, leaving space for silence)* You buried me deep… And I climbed out… Nails and teeth… The child you ate is gone… But I remain… One and the same… Nails and teeth… *(Final piano notes and heartbeat fade into quiet resolve)*