[Verse 1]
You wore that Sunday smile
Shook every crooked hand in town
Told ’em I was wild
Unstable
While you pinned my shaking shoulders down
You kissed my bruises in the mirror
Then swore they came from me
You turned my friends into a jury
And fed them your perjury
[Chorus]
But I was not the monster you sold them
I was bleeding in the dark where you told me to stay
You painted me in ashes and called it my name
But I walked through your fire and I’m burning your blame
I was not the monster you sold them
I was the girl you tried to break then bury alive
Now I’m driving past the house where you swallowed my light
With my real love on the right
And my scars in my rearview tonight
[Verse 2]
He found me cussing at a bar tab
Finger on the self-destruct
Said
“You look like you lost a war
But you still know how to stand back up” (yeah)
Now I wake up to his laughter
Not your footsteps down the hall
If you ever try to call me
My new man’s standing six-foot-tall
[Chorus]
’Cause I was not the monster you sold them
I was bleeding in the dark where you told me to stay
You painted me in ashes and called it my name
But I walked through your fire and I’m burning your blame
I was not the monster you sold them
I was the girl you tried to break then bury alive
Now I’m driving past the house where you swallowed my light
With my real love on the right
And my scars in my rearview tonight
[Bridge]
Let ’em whisper
Let ’em wonder
Let ’em choke on every lie
Truth’s riding shotgun
Boots on the dash
Middle finger to your alibi (hey!)
You can keep your blessed reputation
Like a rusted wedding ring
I got freedom in my lungs now
Hear this battered angel sing
[Chorus]
I was not the monster you sold them
I was bleeding in the dark where you told me to stay
You painted me in ashes and called it my name
But I walked through your fire and I’m burning your blame
I was not the monster you sold them
I was the girl you tried to break then bury alive
Now I’m roaring down the highway
Swallowing sky
With my real love on the right
And my scars in my rearview tonight (yeah)
All your ghosts getting smaller
In my rearview tonight