Tired Of Being Strong

[Verse 1]
You say my name like it ain’t a warning
Like it ain’t carved on a bathroom stall
Like you can’t smell all the gasoline
On my ripped-up overalls
Your hand finds mine in a parking lot
I flinch like it’s a loaded gun
I learned to sleep with my boots laced tight
Always ready just to run
[Chorus]
I’m so tired of being strong
Of stitching myself back up alone
Of turning every goodbye
Into “girl, you should’ve known”
You say you ain’t like the ones before
But I’ve heard that line in a hundred songs
If you’re gonna break me, break me quick
‘Cause I’m tired of being strong (so tired)
[Verse 2]
I got ghosts in a glovebox Bible
Names I don’t say out loud
Every “forever” turned into smoke
When the engine gave out
You touch my scars like they’re battle lines
Like you ain’t here to cross
You talk about staying, I hear the door
Already swinging off
[Chorus]
I’m so tired of being strong
Of stitching myself back up alone
Of turning every goodbye
Into “girl, you should’ve known”
You say you ain’t like the ones before
But I’ve heard that line in a hundred songs
If you’re gonna break me, break me quick
‘Cause I’m tired of being strong (yeah)
[Bridge]
[Guitars drop to palm-muted chugs, vocal almost whispering]
If I let these fences fall
Will you plant anything at all?
If I hand you every cracked-up piece
Will you hold, or will you leave? (hey)
[Breakdown]
[Screamed gang vocals, drums in halftime]
I am not your saving grace
I am not your easy fix
I just want a place to shake
All this armor off my skin
[Chorus]
I’m so tired of being strong
Of proving that I can carry on
If you’re staying, say it twice
If you’re leaving, just be gone
You say you ain’t like the ones before
And it scares me that I sing along
If you’re gonna love me, love me true
‘Cause I’m tired of being strong (so tired, so tired)
I’m tired of being strong

country, Metalcore-country crossover with female vocals: twangy, overdriven Telecaster riff drops into double-kick chugs and low-tuned breakdowns. Verses stay half-clean with subtle pedal steel swells and picked acoustic; choruses explode with screamed harmonies under a soaring melodic top line. Big halftime bridge with gang vocals and a final, held-out high note over ringing chords., strong, metalcore