This is for those who

Verse 1

This is for those who learned to whisper

When they had something they needed to say

Who could read every face in the room

But lost themselves somewhere along the way

For those who practiced every answer

Before they ever spoke out loud

Who learned that keeping everybody happy

Meant making themselves small somehow

Pre-Chorus

If you learned to disappear

Just to keep somebody near

Maybe it's time you finally hear—

Chorus

You don't need permission

To take up space in your own life

You don't need approval

To know what you feel inside

You can say no

You can change your mind

You can draw a line

Without explaining why

If they only loved the version

That was easier to keep quiet—

You don't need permission

To take up space in your own life

Verse 2

This is for those who say “I'm sorry”

Before they even know what they did

For those who became the peacekeeper

When they were still somebody's kid

For those who learned love had conditions

So they got good at playing small

But somebody angry at your boundary

Doesn't mean it's wrong at all

Pre-Chorus

Maybe they won't understand

When you finally choose yourself

But you don't have to lose your voice

To keep somebody else

Chorus

You don't need permission

To take up space in your own life

You don't need approval

To know what you feel inside

You can say no

You can change your mind

You can draw a line

Without explaining why

If they only loved the version

That was easier to keep quiet—

You don't need permission

To take up space in your own life

Bridge

This is for the first “no”

That shakes when it comes out

For the first closed door

You don't turn around and open

For the first time you disappoint them

And discover you survive

For the moment you stop asking

If you're allowed to choose your life

Maybe they'll call you selfish

Maybe they'll say you've changed

Maybe they're just finally meeting

The you they couldn't rearrange

Final Chorus

I don't need permission

To take up space in my own life

I don't need approval

To know that what I feel is mine

I can say no

I can change my mind

I can draw the line

And leave the guilt behind

If you only loved the version

Who was easier to keep quiet—

I don't need permission

I don't need permission

To be here.

To be heard.

To be mine.

Outro — quiet

This is for those who spent their whole lives

waiting for someone to say it was okay.

It is.

But you didn't need me

to tell you that.