[Verse 1]
I count the pills beside the kettle
Measure footsteps down the hall
Your bad days lean against my shoulder
I pretend I’m built for all
The laundry waits in crooked towers
Cold tea stains the kitchen tile
I answer every frightened question
Then forget my name awhile
[Pre-Chorus]
I lock the bathroom door
And breathe against the sink
There’s nothing left to give
But I’m afraid to stop and think
[Chorus]
I’m tired of being the strong one
Tired of swallowing the sound
I carry everybody’s weather
While my own heart goes underground
If I disappear behind this silence
Would anybody know I’m gone?
I’m still here, still here, still here
Dragging morning on
[Verse 2]
Some memories arrive like sirens
No warning, no release
My body stays inside the present
My mind runs from the scene
I wear a smile into the doorway
Like a coat I can’t take off
Then shake alone beside the bedroom
When the house has finally stopped
[Pre-Chorus]
I’m not asking for a rescue
I’m asking for a chair
A hand that doesn’t need explaining
A voice that says, “I’m there”
[Chorus]
I’m tired of being the strong one
Tired of swallowing the sound
I carry everybody’s weather
While my own heart goes underground
If I disappear behind this silence
Would anybody know I’m gone?
I’m still here, still here, still here
Dragging morning on
[Bridge]
Tonight I leave the dishes standing
Let the phone ring through the room
I put my back against the doorway
And make a little space to move
I am more than what I manage
More than every crisis fed
There is breath beneath the panic
There is blood beneath the dread
[Final Chorus]
I’m tired of being the strong one
But I don’t have to wear the crown
I can set one burden on the table
I can let one honest tear fall down
If I disappear behind this silence
I will call somebody’s name
I’m still here, still here, still here
And tomorrow won’t be the same
[Outro]
The kettle clicks
The room stays still
I’m not healed
But I’m here still