Want to be wanted

Mom dipped out when I was eight years old

Left me with a dude who was ice-cold

Didn’t want a kid, didn’t want my face

I’m Just another pay check in a government case

Every look he gave me had a dollar sign

Like I wasn’t human, just a way to get by

Never got invited, never got the calls

Just a spare part kid in a house with no walls

I learned real young how to stay real quiet

How to not ask questions, how to not start riots

Looked in the mirror like, “Man, what’s wrong?”

All I ever wanted was to belong

I tried to be good

I tried to be great

I tried every version of me they’d take

I don’t wanna be famous

I don’t wanna be saved

I don’t need a crown or a place to get paid

I don’t need perfect, I don’t need wanted by all

I just wanna be wanted

That’s it, that’s all

I love too loud, I stay too long

Try to turn a maybe into a song

Gave her every piece I never had

Everything good, everything sad

She said she loved how I made her feel

Didn’t love how it all got real

I was building homes in a rented space

She was already gone, I just didn’t chase

I think too much

I feel too deep

I love like I’m scared it’ll leave

I don’t wanna be flawless

I don’t wanna be brave

I don’t need a promise that’ll rot with age

I don’t need forever written on a wall

I just wanna be wanted

That’s it, that’s all

(Bridge (faster, almost yelled))

I try to speak, they wave me off

Like I’m a rerun they already saw

They cut me off mid-sentence, eyes on their phones

Like hurry it up, man, we already know

I talk and they rush me

I joke and they grin

Like I’m background noise they’re stuck hearing

I don’t need applause, I don’t need a crown

Just don’t make me feel like I shouldn’t be around

(Break (half-time))

I show up

I try

I bleed

I stay

I do this shit

Every single day

I don’t wanna be perfect

I don’t wanna be fixed

I don’t wanna be somebody else’s checklist

I don’t need forever, I don’t need it all

I just wanna be wanted

I don’t need your money

I don’t need your name

I don’t need you staying out of guilt or shame

If you got a heartbeat, if you got a soul

Just want me like I am

I just want to be wanted…that’s All!