Smiling For Duty

[Verse 1]
Mama left a note on the fridge
Dad left before I could read
Cold toast, small shoes by the door
I learned love by what I don't need
Schoolyard cuts, broken front teeth
I wore pain like a second skin
If they asked me how I was
I said "good" and tucked it in
[Pre-Chorus]
I got real good at the grin
Real good at the lie
Hid the storm in my ribs
Kept the tears in my eyes
Then a green light called my name
Said "son, come make us proud"
I saluted with a cracked heart
And I swallowed the crowd
[Chorus]
I'm smiling for duty (smiling for duty)
Smiling for duty, yeah
My heart's gone quiet now
But my face still stands up there
I'm smiling for duty (smiling for duty)
Smiling for duty, yeah
If I fall, don't ask me why
I was empty long before the prayer
[Verse 2]
First love said she'd stay forever
Then she kissed and disappeared
Second girl kept my letters
Then she found a life next year
Third one said I looked so tired
When I laughed it cut like glass
Truth is, I been gone so long
I don't even chase it back
Boots in the mud, hands in the rain
Same ghost in a camouflage frame
Every night I count my losses
Every morning wear the same name
[Pre-Chorus]
I got real good at the grin
Real good at the lie
Hid the storm in my ribs
Kept the tears in my eyes
Now the boys all slap my back
Say I'm strong, say I'm built
They don't see the little boy
Still standing in that guilt
[Chorus]
I'm smiling for duty (smiling for duty)
Smiling for duty, yeah
My heart's gone quiet now
But my face still stands up there
I'm smiling for duty (smiling for duty)
Smiling for duty, yeah
If I fall, don't ask me why
I was empty long before the prayer
[Bridge]
Call my name, I answer clean
Chest out, eyes on the line
But inside it's a hollow room
With a child locked up in time
If you saw what I still carry
You'd hear my silence scream
I don't fight for glory, no
I fight to keep my country clean
[Final Chorus]
I'm smiling for duty (smiling for duty)
Smiling for duty, yeah
My heart's gone quiet now
But my face still stands up there
I'm smiling for duty (smiling for duty)
Smiling for duty, yeah
If I fall, don't ask me why
I was empty long before the prayer
(smiling for duty)

Sad rap with slow half-time drums, muted piano stabs, and a sparse sub pulse; verse one stays bare and close-mic, pre-chorus opens with filtered strings and stacked hums, chorus hits with wide gang doubles on the hook and a fragile melodic tail. Add tape-stop transitions, distant reveb throws on the last word of each line, and a cracked brass swell before the final chorus. Intimate, dark, and punchy with male vocals., rap, breaks, country, sad