(INTRO - spoken, quiet)
I didn’t come out like this.
I didn’t start strong.
I didn’t ask for the pressure…
but I’m still here.
---
(HOOK - 8 bars)
I’m still standing where I almost broke,
Cracks in my skin but I still hold hope.
Fire tried to end me, didn’t know
I was made for more than the weight I hold.
Still standing, quiet but whole,
Bent by the hands that shaped my soul.
I don’t shine ’cause I lived untouched —
I shine ’cause I lived through too much.
---
(VERSE 1 - 16 bars)
I remember days I felt misshaped,
Like nothing good could come from my state.
Hands on my life, pushing, pulling,
Every turn felt cruel, unloving.
Spun around till I lost my view,
Didn’t know who I was turning into.
Thought the pressure meant I was wrong,
Didn’t know it was making me strong.
Every scar had a reason I couldn’t see,
Every silence was working in me.
I begged for escape, begged for relief,
But the weight kept sharpening belief.
Now I look back and connect the lines,
Every breaking moment was design.
Not to destroy me, not to erase —
But to give my life a stronger shape.
---
(HOOK - repeat)
I’m still standing where I almost broke,
Cracks in my skin but I still hold hope.
Fire tried to end me, didn’t know
I was made for more than the weight I hold.
Still standing, quiet but whole,
Bent by the hands that shaped my soul.
I don’t shine ’cause I lived untouched —
I shine ’cause I lived through too much.
---
(VERSE 2 - 16 bars)
Heat don’t ask permission when it comes,
Doesn’t care who you were or what you’ve done.
It reveals what you’re holding inside,
What survives when the comfort dies.
I learned strength ain’t loud or fast,
It’s staying present while the storm still lasts.
Not breaking when the world says “bend,”
Not shattering just to feel like you win.
Some things only form under strain,
Some truths only speak through pain.
I didn’t lose myself in the fire —
I met the version I’d become required.
Now I carry weight without shaking apart,
Hold something warm where there used to be dark.
If I’m trusted with more than before,
It’s ’cause I didn’t run from the forge.
---
(BRIDGE - half-spoken, minimal beat)
If I had left when I wanted to…
I wouldn’t be able to hold what I’m given now.
---
(FINAL HOOK - last pass, steady confidence)
I’m still standing, steady and sure,
Built to carry, built to endure.
I don’t curse the fire I walked through —
It showed me what I was meant to do.
Still standing, quiet, refined,
Shaped by a purpose I couldn’t define.
I don’t shine ’cause life was kind —
I shine ’cause I survived the grind.
---
(OUTRO)
I wasn’t ruined.
I was becoming.
Angry_Elf
