Hand-Me-Down Heart

[Verse 1]
Hand-me-down house
Hand-me-down name
Hand-me-down secrets
I carried the blame
Dropped off at the doorstep
Too small for the pain
Calling them “mom
Dad”
While choking her name
Monsters in daylight
Hands that should hold
Bottle on the table
Their hearts running cold
Grew up in the crossfire
Of things never said
Teaching myself
To tuck fear into bed
[Chorus]
I’ve been through hell and back
With a hand-me-down heart
Stitched it up myself
From a thousand shattered parts
Still shaking when it’s quiet
But I show up in the dark
For these two little boys
I’m their soft place to start
Yeah
I’ve been through hell and back
With a hand-me-down heart
[Verse 2]
Pills on the counter
Years in a haze
Losing whole mornings
To long
Sleepless days
Screaming at mirrors
I couldn’t outrun
The girl who was broken
Before she begun
Therapist office
Staring at tiles
Learning my story
In small shaky files
Thought I was crazy
For wanting to stay
Then two tiny voices
Pulled me awake
[Chorus]
I’ve been through hell and back
With a hand-me-down heart
Stitched it up myself
From a thousand shattered parts
Still shaking when it’s quiet
But I show up in the dark
For these two little boys
I’m their soft place to start
Yeah
I’ve been through hell and back
With a hand-me-down heart
[Bridge]
I am not the nights
They left me alone
I am not the glass
Or the slammed-down phone
I am every time
That I chose to stay
Two sets of small hands
Pulling me toward today (oh)
[Chorus]
I’ve been through hell and back
With a hand-me-down heart
But I’m learning how to love it
Like a fragile work of art
Still shaking when it’s quiet
But I show up in the dark
For these two little boys
I’m their soft place to start
Yeah
I’ve been through hell and back
But this hand-me-down heart
Beats steady for my boys
We’re rewriting every part

Raw acoustic pop with female vocals; intimate fingerpicked guitar and soft piano under the verses, light bass and brushed drums blooming in the chorus. First verse hushed and confessional, chorus lifts with stacked harmonies and a subtle pad. Bridge strips down to solo vocal and guitar, last chorus adds high ad-libs and a gentle tambourine for a cathartic, hopeful finish.