[Intro – sparse clean guitar, low bass hum, dry room ambience, no big entrance] [Verse 1 – low slightly raspy male vocal, tired, restrained, almost conversational] I failed you, I’m sorry I was supposed to be strong I was supposed to hold us together Be the one you could lean on [brief pause – guitar rings out] But how can I save anybody When I don’t know how to save myself? [drums enter softly, dry and minimal] On the outside I’m smiling Still throwing stupid jokes Looking calm, looking steady Like I’ve got it under control [guitar becomes slightly dissonant] But inside there’s nothing Nothing moving anymore Not even sadness Not even anger [Pre-Chorus – bass grows louder, tension slowly building, vocal still controlled] You ask me, “What’s wrong?” I say, “Nothing, I’m fine” It gets easy to lie When you practice all the time [brief instrumental stop] [Chorus – distorted guitars suddenly open wide, vocal cracked but not screamed] I just want to feel again Love or joy, anger or fear I don’t care if something hurts me I just need to know it’s there I just want to feel human Not this shadow wearing me [half-beat pause] I just want to be Just to be [Post-Chorus – fuzzy guitar swell, feedback, then sudden drop back to clean sound] [Verse 2 – restrained again, dry drums, melodic bass, vocal detached but more tired] I get up and do what’s needed Answer when somebody calls I know exactly when to smile I know when to make them laugh Nobody sees the difference Maybe that’s the cruelest part I got good at looking normal While disappearing in the dark [instruments thin out] And when I’m finally alone There’s no mask that hits the floor There’s no hidden face beneath it [brief silence] There’s just nothing anymore [Pre-Chorus – sharper delivery, guitar noise growing underneath] They say, “You have to stay strong” Like strength has an on-and-off switch Like I dropped it in a pocket And just forgot where it is [drums hit harder, abrupt transition] [Chorus – louder and rougher, wider fuzz guitars, vocal more exposed] I just want to feel again Love or joy, anger or fear I don’t care if something hurts me I just need to know it’s there I just want to feel human Not this shadow wearing me I just want to be Just to be [Instrumental break – unstable distorted guitar, feedback, stop-start drums, brief chaotic swell] [Bridge – instruments collapse to bass and faint clean guitar, vocal close and almost spoken] I don’t want to be a hero I don’t want to save the day I’m tired of hearing, “You’ll get through it” Just because I always have [slow build begins] Maybe for once I could be nothing Nothing anyone depends on Not the strong one Not the answer Not the one who carries on [everything drops out except faint amp hum] Just myself [Break – almost whispered] If I still remember Who that was [long pause] [Final Chorus – full band returns suddenly, raw distorted guitars, strongest vocal of the song, emotional but still controlled] I just want to feel again I don’t care if good or bad Let something inside me scream Just to prove there’s something left I don’t need another answer I don’t need to know the way I just want to feel human [vocal begins to crack] I just want to be Just to be [Outro – drums disappear, soft clean guitar, close intimate vocal, almost no reverb] No smile for everybody No automatic “I’m okay” [long pause] Just to be. [End – faint amplifier noise, no final dramatic chord, cut to silence]
