[Verse 1]
Used to color in the lines
Tiny hands, bright eyes, bedtime
Then you slammed the door on that kid
Said “shut up, toughen up, keep it hid”
You turned “I love you” into landmines
Every hug had a hook inside
You were laughing while I bled
You wrote your gospel in my head
[Chorus]
Why I gotta be nice to the world?
What has it ever done for me?
I wasn’t born with the blade in my hand
You hammered it in till it cut me free
If I’m a monster now
It’s ’cause you fed the dark in me
I wasn’t born evil, I was corrupted
By the ones who said they’d never leave
[Verse 2]
You call it “character,” I call it scars
You call it “lessons,” I call it bars
You decorated all my doubts
Made a home inside my mouth
“Smile, be grateful, don’t complain”
While you baptized me in shame
Now you flinch at what you made
Like I crawled here from the grave
[Chorus]
Why I gotta be nice to the world?
What has it ever done for me?
I wasn’t born with the blade in my hand
You hammered it in till it cut me free
If I’m a monster now
It’s ’cause you fed the dark in me
I wasn’t born evil, I was corrupted
By the ones who said they’d never leave
[Bridge]
What’s the purpose of the pain?
Did it save me, did it stain?
Did it make me strong
or did it make me strange? (yeah)
Every bruise you ever gave
Got engraved into my veins
Now you beg me to behave
When I’m just saying what you say
[Chorus]
Why I gotta be nice to the world?
What has it ever done for me?
I wasn’t born with the blade in my hand
You hammered it in till it cut me free
If I’m a monster now
It’s ’cause you fed the dark in me
I wasn’t born evil, I was corrupted
Now you’re terrified
Of what you turned me into, me