“ALMOST BROKE SHADOW”

INTRO (quiet, trembling → distortion)

I don’t hate you.

That’s the truth.

But you came closer than anyone

to ending who I was.

This is for Shadow—

the version that survived.

⸻

VERSE 1 (Rap – raw, confessional)

You didn’t hurt me loud, you hurt me slow

With mixed signals, “stay” then “go”

You made me feel chosen, then unsure

Had me chasing clarity I never got pure

I gave you patience I should’ve kept

Ignored my gut every time it screamed “step”

I trusted words more than your actions showed

That’s on me—I wanted the story, not the code

You said you cared but disappeared

When things got heavy, when I got real

I stayed consistent, you stayed vague

Left me loving someone half-engaged

That wasn’t love, that was erosion

Day by day, piece by piece, emotion

You didn’t raise your voice or throw a punch

You just left me hanging—over and over—once was too much

⸻

PRE-CHORUS (low, shaking, restrained)

I questioned my worth

I questioned my needs

I thought maybe loving you

Meant losing me

⸻

CHORUS (Metal – emotional, breaking through)

🔥 YOU ALMOST BROKE SHADOW 🔥

Had me doubting my ground

🔥 I LOST MY BALANCE TRYING TO HOLD YOU 🔥

While you faded out

From the hope to the silence to the nights I ran

I didn’t fall—I learned who I am

🔥 YOU ALMOST BROKE SHADOW 🔥

But I stood where I stand

⸻

VERSE 2 (Rap – anger under control)

I replayed texts like they were clues

Trying to decode what I meant to you

I blamed timing, stress, the world

Anything but the truth I didn’t want to hold

The truth was simple, but it hurt the most

I cared deeper than you ever chose

I was building something real in my head

You were just there ‘til it got inconvenient

I shrunk myself to keep you close

Lowered standards, ignored my own code

That’s not love—that’s fear in disguise

Fear of losing you, fear of goodbye

You didn’t ask me to change who I was

I just did it to feel enough

That’s the part that still stings my chest

Not losing you—losing my self-respect

⸻

BREAKDOWN (Metal – slow, crushing, emotional)

I—BENT

I—WAITED

I—HOPED

YOU—HESITATED

I—STAYED

YOU—DRIFTED

I—BROKE

YOU—DIDN’T—NOTICE

⸻

BUILD-UP (spoken, breaking then firm)

You didn’t destroy me.

But you showed me a version of pain

I’ll never let myself repeat.

That lesson cost me sleep, confidence, peace…

But it saved Shadow from disappearing.

⸻

FINAL CHORUS (full force, layered vocals)

🔥 YOU ALMOST BROKE SHADOW 🔥

But I rebuilt from truth

🔥 I CHOSE MYSELF OVER THE MAYBE 🔥

That I kept chasing in you

From the tears to the clarity to the line I drew

I don’t bleed for someone who won’t choose

🔥 YOU ALMOST BROKE SHADOW 🔥

But now I’m unmovable

⸻

OUTRO (quiet, resolved, no anger)

I don’t wish you pain.

I don’t wish you back.

I wish I had chosen myself sooner.

You didn’t break me…

But you taught me exactly

why Shadow has boundaries now.