(Verse 1 - The First Home) (Music is quiet, just a synth pulse) First home, I was with my sister Thought, "maybe this is it" I remember all the family meetings in the den Right before the world split I cried a lot after they let us go ("Wanna do more as a family...") How to process a "goodbye"? I just learned how to cry And I learned that even when you're good... ...you still have to pack. (Verse 2 - The Second Home) (Beat starts to build) Second home, God, I tried to be good (I tried so hard...) Did every chore, smiled when I was told I should But that house was full of blame Full of mistrust and fear The daughter got jealous of the attention (Just for me bein' here...) It was a Black family... in a different world (I still feel it...) And I learned that you can be "the problem" Just by being a girl. That's when I built the fortress... (That's where I got fortified...) I locked my soul inside. (Chorus - Beat Drops) By the time I was 12, I had a 40-year-old soul (So old, so old...) I knew how to lose, I knew how to not lose control I kept my bags unpacked, right by the bedroom door 'Cause I learned that "forever" Doesn't live here anymore. Yeah, 12-year-old me... Still a girl with unpacked bags That nobody else could see. (Verse 3 - The Adoption) (Beat and synths continue) Then I was 12... and they threw me a party (It was weird lol...) Called it an "adoption shower" For a 12-year-old "shorty" A shower's for a baby, with no story yet (No past, no regrets...) I was a 12-year-old survivor, tryin' to forget All the foster homes, all the goodbyes Standin' there with presents... (So weird...) With my 40-year-old eyes. (Chorus - Beat Drops Harder) By the time I was 12, I had a 40-year-old soul (So old, so old...) I knew how to lose, I knew how to not lose control I kept my bags unpacked, right by the bedroom door 'Cause I learned that "forever" Doesn't live here anymore. Yeah, 12-year-old me... Still a girl with unpacked bags That nobody else could see. (Bridge - Music Drops to Just Synths) (Vocals are intense, processed) My adopted family is white And they chose me as a Black girl And you, Mom... you made my race a bigger deal You'd be a "Karen" on vacation, and I'd feel so small (So small...) Then you'd fight the dance teacher in front of 'em all (Right in the lobby...) 'Bout the "nude" leotard... 'Bout the "bouncy hair" You were "standin' up for me"... but I just wasn't there. (I was so mortified...) It's a different kind of "belonging" A different kind of "why?" To be "protected" but feel "other" Right before their very eyes. (Final Chorus - Explosive) (Drums, Bass, Synths - everything in) By theTime I was 12, I had a 40-year-old soul (So old, so old...) I knew how to lose, I knew how to not lose control I kept my bags unpacked, right by the bedroom door 'Cause I learned that "forever" Doesn't live here anymore. Yeah, 12-year-old me... (She's still in here...) Still a girl with unpacked bags... And she's still... so... scared.

Unpacked bags