Gravel in My Throat

Woke up to the same four walls

Peeling paint and my missed calls

Mama in the kitchen with the late bills

Actin' like her hands ain't shake still

I was sixteen, watchin' grown folk break

Tryna hold the whole house, backbone ache

Teachers said “you smart, girl, stay in your lane”

But my lane full of cracks and it smell like pain

Life hit hard and it don't say sorry

I got scars that don't fit in a story

Everybody talk like they know my road

But they don't feel the weight that I haul alone

Life hit hard, yeah, it swing like that

If I fall down, I still swing right back

Heart on fire in a worn-out coat

Little girl with gravel in her throat (yeah)

Scrollin' on my phone, see the rich kids flex

Same age, different world, different kind of stress

I been baggin' up shifts, cheap shoes, sore feet

Still they wanna judge me from the front-row seat

Dad left a note, said “I gotta heal too”

Guess healing mean vanish when the rent past due

So I learned how to smile with a locked jaw

Talk soft, walk hard, hold my own flaws

Life hit hard and it don't say sorry

I got scars that don't fit in a story

Everybody talk like they know my road

But they don't feel the weight that I haul alone

Life hit hard, yeah, it swing like that

If I fall down, I still swing right back

Heart on fire in a worn-out coat

Little girl with gravel in her throat (oh)

They say “stay strong” like it's easy to do

When the lights go off and it's just you

Talkin' to the ceiling, tryna keep hope close

Prayin' that the hurt don't turn me cold

Life hit hard and it don't say sorry

I got scars that don't fit in a story

Everybody talk like they know my road

But they don't feel the weight that I haul alone

Life hit hard, yeah, it swing like that

If I fall down, I still swing right back

Heart on fire in a worn-out coat

Just a girl still fightin' through the smoke (yeah)

Little girl with gravel in her throat