Smoke Where my Name Was

I traded my truth for a quieter lie
Wore a calm face while I burned inside
Said “I’m fine” till I believed it too
That’s how a heart learns how to disappear on cue

I kept the peace and I kept the role
But every yes cost pieces of my soul
Smiled on time, played my part
Signed my name away in the dark


There was smoke where my name was
Ash where my fire should be
I was breathing but I wasn’t alive
Just a ghost wearing me

I betrayed my own voice
Just to keep the room warm
Now I’m walking back through the embers
Rebuilding my form


I called it love, I called it fate
But it was fear dressed up as wait
I bent so far I lost my frame
Forgot my sound, forgot my name

Every mirror looked like a stranger’s face
Every dream put back in place
Nice and quiet on the shelf —
That’s how I vanished from myself


There was smoke where my name was
Ash where my fire should be
I was breathing but I wasn’t alive
Just a ghost wearing me

I betrayed my own voice
Just to keep the room warm
Now I’m walking back through the embers
Rebuilding my form


No villain here, no crown to blame
Just slow surrender dressed as sane
The crime was small and daily done —
I kept choosing everyone

But the spark don’t die — it waits below
Truth is patient, truth is slow


There’s a flame where my name is
Heat in my lungs when I speak
I’d rather stand in honest fire
Than disappear being meek

I won’t trade my voice
For belonging again
If I lose the crowd — I keep my soul
And that’s how I win


I went missing in my own life
Now I answer when I call.

Smoky neo-soul ballad, dark groove, Rhodes piano, warm bass, brushed drums, intimate confessional vocal, slow burn mood