[Verse 1]
They circled my desk
Red pen on my dreams
Said “that’s not for you”
Like they knew what it means
Laughed at my notebook
When I said “I’ll write scenes”
Folded their paper planes
Threw them at me
[Pre-Chorus]
But I’ve got pages they can’t see
Colors they’ll never believe
Every name they called me
Just turns into ink on my sleeve
[Chorus]
Ignore them
I’ll be who I wanna be
You don’t get to author me
I’m an author
A dancer
A singer
Heart on my sleeve
It lingers
Say what you want
I’m still gonna chase these dreams
You don’t get to
You don’t get to
You don’t get to author me
[Verse 2]
They roll their eyes
When I dance down the hall
“Too loud
Too much”
Yeah
I’ve heard it all
But these feet remember
Every beat
Every fall
I get back up again
Taller than before
[Pre-Chorus]
Your little jokes don’t own my name
I turn the hurt into a flame
Every whisper
Every shove
Just pushes me deeper in love with who I am
[Chorus]
[Bridge]
[low vocal register]
Be a poet
Be a coder
Paint the sky or climb the border
Wear the glitter
Rock the braces
You’re a star in all the spaces
[soft
Almost spoken]
If they point
If they laugh
Let them fade into the back
They can talk
We’ll just breathe
We decide what we believe
[crescendo]
I’ll be the author of me (of me)
You be the author of you (of you)
We’re not the names that they choose
We’re every dream we refuse to lose
[Chorus]