Wasted Tears

[Intro]
[detuned guitar swells, low 808 pulse, faint room noise]
I can’t afford another night like this. (mm)
Even tears got a price.

[Verse 1]
Overdraft heart, I been swiping on empty,
Sleep on decline, every dream wanna rent me.
Late fees stack in the pit of my chest,
Interest on grief, I been paying in stress.
Mirror look back like, “Boy, get it together,”
But together been gone since forever.
I’m too tired to fall apart dramatic,
No balcony scenes, just static.
Knuckles white on a steering wheel prayer,
Gaslight blinking, nobody there.
Even sadness feel like a shift I can’t cover,
Clocked in to pain like it’s work undercover.

[Pre-Chorus]
I don’t even got the luxury to break,
No sick days for the soul I fake.
If I let it out, I might not stop —
And I can’t let the whole thing drop.

[Chorus]
These are wasted tears,
Falling like bills I can’t pay.
Salt on my face,
Another debt at the end of the day.
I try to hold ’em in,
Lock the flood behind my ribs —
But they fall anyway,
Yeah, they fall anyway. (mm)

[Verse 2]
Rock in my throat like I swallowed a scream,
Back against brick, just me and the steam.
Fridge hum louder than friends do,
Silence stick like it tend to.
I resent how my eyes betray me,
Waterline weak when the world wanna break me.
Ain’t got the time for a cinematic crash,
Rent due, lights low, future in the trash.
I keep receipts of the nights I survived,
Count every breath just to prove I’m alive.
If crying’s a cleanse, then why feel poorer?
Every tear leave me thinner, sore-er.

[Bridge]
[drums distort, guitar feedback under vocal]
I’m mad at myself for feeling at all,
Mad that the strong still crack and fall.
I whisper, “Toughen up,” through my teeth,
But the truth leak out underneath. (underneath…)

[Final Chorus]
These are wasted tears,
Falling like bills I can’t pay.
No breakdown budget,
No room to decay.
I try to hold ’em in,
Tell my heart, “Don’t you slip,”
But they fall anyway,
Yeah, they fall anyway.

[Outro]
[guitar fades to a low hum, 808 stops]
I wipe my face, stand up straight.
Can’t afford to drown.
Not today.

Dark R&B with Rock elements: Smooth male vocals over gritty guitars, deep 808s, raw drums.