(120 BPM • dark pop / alt pop / indie pop vibe)
[Intro — 2 bars instrumental hook]
(ghosty synths + heartbeat kick)
Ooh, ooh... yeah...
[Verse 1]
I still see your name in places you never were
Replay the fights and the nights that we never blurred
I built a life inside a thought
Now every road feels like a plot
[Pre-Chorus]
I keep chasing what we didn’t do
Like it’s tattooed on my skin
I can’t forgive myself
For letting a dream begin
[Chorus — Catchy Hook]
🎶 I’m haunted by the past that never was (never was)
By every could-have, every just because
I feel the weight of every choice I made
Now I can’t outrun the mess I made
🎶 Haunted by a life I didn’t live
By every take I didn’t give
It’s killing me to know
That ghosts can grow (ghosts can grow...)
From the seeds you never sow
[Post-Chorus — melodic riff with vocal run]
Ooh-oh... oh-oh...
Past that never was... yeah
[Verse 2]
Scroll through the pictures that we never took
Still hear your laugh in the lines of a song or book
I thought regret would fade with time
But it’s aged like a bitter wine
[Pre-Chorus]
I can’t change the words I never spoke
I can’t unwrite the notes
I wish I’d burned that bridge
But I just built a boat
[Chorus — Repeat, slightly more intense]
🎶 I’m haunted by the past that never was (never was)
By every could-have, every just because
I feel the weight of every choice I made
Now I can’t outrun the mess I made
🎶 Haunted by a life I didn’t live
By every take I didn’t give
It’s killing me to know
That ghosts can grow (ghosts can grow...)
From the seeds you never sow
[Bridge — stripped down, emotional]
Was it fear, was it pride, was it fate?
I don’t know, but it’s too late
Now every mirror’s telling me
I chose the ghost, not destiny
[Final Chorus — with layered vocals]
🎶 I’m haunted by the past that never was (never was)
By every could-have, every just because
I feel the weight of every choice I made
Now I can’t outrun the mess I made
🎶 Haunted by a life I didn’t live
By every take I didn’t give
It’s killing me to know
That ghosts can grow
From the seeds you never sow
[Outro — fading with layered oohs & vocal riff]
Past that never was... oh... oh...
(haunted, haunted)
Ooh... yeah...
sheesh
