[Verse 1]
I felt like somebody, felt like nobody
Both at the same damn time
Titles on paper, handshakes and photos
Borrowing confidence I couldn’t find
United Nations rooms and city halls
Winning elections, learning how to smile
Second year director, playing my part
Still checking myself every mile
They said I was lucky, said I fell into it
Like any of this just happened by chance
No degree hanging over my name
Just an opportunity I refused to waste
[Pre-Chorus]
I learned how to speak the language
Learned how to stand in the light
Still felt the floor under me
Like it could drop any night
[Chorus]
On the outside it looked like heaven
Social media called it a dream
But every view came with a quiet clock
Ticking back toward reality
Every city was beautiful, temporary
Every high came with gravity
I was smiling in the pictures
Still trying to prove I belonged in the frame
[Verse 2]
London nights turned into train tickets
Backpacks heavy, hearts wide open
Prague to Budapest, Rome to Madrid
Paris found us when nothing was spoken
Late nights on the grass with the locals
Wine and bread, lights flickering gold
I said, “Just come with me,” you trusted
Didn’t need to know where we’d go
I lined up the angle by the Tower
Watched you stand up in the glow
Took a picture I still carry
Of the moment my future said hello
Rome lost us after dark
Wrong turns, laughing anyway
Remembered an old movie, followed a hunch
Found the Trevi Fountain, made you stay
Threw a coin like a quiet promise
That love like this would find its way
[Pre-Chorus]
I looked like I had it figured out
That’s all the world could see
But every step forward I took
Still felt heavier on me
[Chorus]
On the outside it looked like heaven
Postcards, stamps, destiny
But every mile came with the fear
That this was borrowed time for me
Every city was beautiful, temporary
Every high came with gravity
I was standing in the picture
Still trying to earn my place to be
[Bridge]
When I met you, you were tired of wanting
Things life said you couldn’t afford
Watching everyone else order freely
While you scanned the cheapest line on the board
I told myself you’d never feel that again
Not if my hands could change it at all
So I stopped chasing things just for me
And chased what would make you feel whole
[Bridge – half spoken]
I was scared they’d find me out.
That one good break would break me.
[Break – instrumental pause]
[Final Chorus]
Now I know why it all felt fragile
Why success never felt complete
I wasn’t chasing the world
I was building somewhere safe for us to be
Every city was beautiful, temporary
But you were the constant I could see
If gravity kept pulling me down
Your love taught me how to stand upright in it
[Outro]
The postcards fade, the stamps grow old
But I remember who I was trying to be
Not somebody famous
Just somebody worthy
Of you choosing me
JLWatkins
