[Intro – Rowan, smoky female mezzo, close and fragile] I can hear it breathing Somewhere underneath my skin It sounds like me But hungrier [Verse 1 – Rowan, tense and restrained] Every heartbeat tastes like violence Every shadow knows my name I keep finding something human Buried underneath the change There are teeth behind my smile now There is blood beneath my tongue And I’m terrified the thing I’m becoming Has already won [Pre-Chorus – rising] But if this hunger belongs to me Then maybe I can choose What it takes What it leaves What I refuse to lose [Chorus – Rowan, explosive melodic belt] There’s a red hunger underneath my skin Clawing at the walls, begging to get in If I become the monster I’ll choose what it devours Let it feed on every nightmare Every chain that held me down Blood doesn’t get to tell me who I am I decide what survives [Instrumental – jagged guitar + strings] [Verse 2 – faster, more desperate] I remember every heartbeat Of the people I couldn’t save Every face inside the darkness Every hand beneath the grave Maybe monsters aren’t born empty Maybe somebody broke them first Maybe mercy isn’t weakness Maybe mercy hurts the worst [Pre-Chorus] If this hunger belongs to me Then I will make it learn There are things worth protecting There are things I will not burn [Chorus] There’s a red hunger underneath my skin Clawing at the walls, begging to get in If I become the monster I’ll choose what it devours Let it feed on every nightmare Every chain that held me down Blood doesn’t get to tell me who I am I decide what survives [Bridge – Rowan, stripped down] What if I can’t go back? What if this is who I am? What if every piece I hated Was just trying to understand? [Soft backing voices] Hungry Hungry [Rowan] Then let it hunger [Build] Let it scream Let it tear through everything But not them Never them [Full band explosion] [Final Chorus – Rowan, huge and raw] There’s a red hunger underneath my skin I don’t have to love it I just have to live with it If I become the monster I’ll choose what it devours Let it feed on every nightmare Let it break these walls apart Blood doesn’t get to tell me who I am Pain doesn’t get to choose my heart I can taste the darkness And still choose the light [Outro – Rowan, quiet] Even monsters know What they’re protecting
