[Intro] (Rhythmic clapping: Clap... Clap... Clap...) (Deep humming) Mmmm-hmmm... (Spoken) I held my breath for way too long. Watch me exhale. [Verse 1] I sat across the table, shaking in my chair Holding onto my notebook like a life raft there. The coffee’s getting cold, the clock is ticking loud I’m terrified to say it, to speak it out proud. I thought if you knew the truth, you’d turn and run away I thought the sky would fall if I let the secrets play. But I looked into your eyes, and I didn't see disgust Just a quiet kind of love, and a heavy kind of trust. [Pre-Chorus] The words were stuck like gravel in my throat Reading from the wreckage that I wrote. But I pushed them past my lips, I let them hit the air And suddenly... the room wasn't so scary there. [Chorus] They were just Paper Ghosts! Haunting me in ink and line. Stealing all my peace of mind. But when I spoke their names out loud They vanished like a morning cloud! You didn't leave, you didn't judge, you didn't look away. My Paper Ghosts are gone today. (Yeah, they’re gone today!) [Post-Chorus: Hook] So light a match! (Watch it burn!) Lesson lived! (Lesson learned!) Ashes, ashes, dust to dust I’m trading in the shame for trust! (Whoa-oh-oh-oh!) [Verse 2] I told you 'bout the shadows, I opened up the vault I took the blame for things that weren't even my fault. I told you 'bout the darkness I keep under the bed The voices that have screamed inside my head. I waited for the roof to crash down on the floor But you just nodded slowly and asked me, "Is there more?" God, the weight is lifting, my shoulders feel so light I think I might actually sleep through the night! [Chorus] They were just Paper Ghosts! Haunting me in ink and line. Stealing all my peace of mind. But when I spoke their names out loud They vanished like a morning cloud! You didn't leave, you didn't judge, you didn't look away. My Paper Ghosts are gone today. [Verse 3] I walked out to the parking lot, the sky was painted blue I felt a brand new wind, I felt a brand new view. The rearview mirror is empty, the backseat is clear I left the heavy baggage in the chair back there! I’m driving fast, I’m driving free The only thing ahead is the future version of me! (Here she comes! Here she comes!) [Bridge] We are as sick as our secrets. (But I ain't sick no more!) We are prisoners of silence. (But I unlocked the door!) I’m clean. I’m seen. I’m finally... free. [Scat Solo] (Belting) Yeah-eh-eh! Whoa-oh-oh-oh! Ba-da-ba-da-burn-it-down! Let it go, let it go, let it go! Hey! Hey! (I feel so light!) [Final Chorus] They were just Paper Ghosts! Haunting me in ink and line. Stealing all my peace of mind. But when I spoke their names out loud They vanished like a morning cloud! You didn't leave, you didn't judge, you didn't look away. My Paper Ghosts are gone today. [Outro] Light a match. (Watch it burn.) Lesson lived. (Lesson learned.) I folded up the paper. Put it in the trash. Nothing left but ashes. (Spoken) It is finished

Paper Ghosts (Freedom Anthem)