[Intro – clean guitar arpeggio, soft ambient pad, distant dial-up static]
1996…
...
[Verse 1 – muted guitar, light 808, soft vocal]
Born in ninety-six
Now it’s twenty twenty-six
Feels like I just hit eighteen again
On repeat, can’t break the spin
2011, barely online
2012 got that iPhone 3
World got bigger overnight
But I stayed stuck inside of me
High school halls, head down low
Too scared to ask her to the show
She bought the tickets, blue ball gown
And I just watched the music drown
[Pre-Chorus – guitar swell, light live drums enter]
Years later they tell me
“She had a thing for you”
That kinda truth hits different
When there’s nothing left to do
[Chorus – full band, emotional vocal]
I’m stuck in 2010
Then 2015 again
Graduation cap in hand
But I never left that land
Now I’m almost thirty
Still feeling like a teen
Everyone says grow up
But I’m caught in between
[Instrumental Break – guitar riff, 808 bass only]
...
[Rap Verse – darker 808, trap hi hats, minimal guitar]
Yeah
Missed chances, missed dances
Too scared to take chances
Kept my feelings under lock
Till they burst at the wrong moments
Always glued to a screen
Escape was my routine
Reality felt heavy
So I built my own machine
They say I should drive more
Should settle down, have kids
In this economy? Hell no
I’m still figuring out what I missed
Lyft rides, late nights
Scrolling through old timelines
I wish I could rewind
Redo a couple lifelines
[Pre-Chorus – drums soften, emotional vocal]
I know I gotta grow up soon
But part of me won’t move
[Build – snare hits, synth tension rise]
Twenty-six
Twenty-six
Still stuck in it
[Chorus – bigger guitars, layered vocals]
I’m stuck in 2010
Then 2015 again
Every year just loops around
Like I never left this town
Now I’m almost thirty
Still stuck in my teens
Wish I could restart
Fix the in-betweens
[Bridge – drums drop out, clean guitar, vulnerable vocal]
Maybe growing up
Is letting go
Of who you were
And who you don’t know
Maybe time ain’t stealing youth
Maybe it’s just teaching truth
[Final Chorus – full band, emotional push]
I’m not in 2010
And I’m not eighteen again
But the kid inside my chest
Still wants one more chance
It’s 2026
And I’m learning how to live
Maybe growing up means
Forgiving what I missed
[Outro – clean guitar, pad fade]
Still in the loop…
But moving forward
...
DreamyCow
