[Intro]
Boarding call in my chest
Passport of old regrets
Window seat on my fears
They load ‘em up under here (yeah)
[Verse 1]
Rubber on runway, nerves on edge
Sky out the glass like a silver ledge
Text you “see you when I land again”
Airplane mode on, but my mind just spins
Seatbelt tight, but my thoughts unbuckle
Takeoff talk from the tower, that mumble
Engines hum low, then they start to roar
All my second chances pressed to the floor
Hands on the armrest, knuckles white
Dreams in the overhead, packed too tight
Little kid behind me kicking my seat
Like the past tryna tell me “you ain’t free”
You in my playlist, track one loop
Your laugh in my ear like cabin whoosh
Clouds on the horizon, thin white line
Pilot in the front, but the choice is mine (yeah)
[Chorus]
We takin’ off, takin’ off, straight through the doubt
Wheels lift up as the lights go out
Heart in my throat while the ground draws back
All that weight get light when the nose tilt up like that
We takin’ off, takin’ off, cut through the blue
Runway behind, only way is through
If I don’t trust this climb I stay the same
So I lean in deep as the steel bird breaks the chains (breaks the chains)
[Verse 2]
City turns small like a childhood map
All the old stomping grounds, one gray patch
Clouds swallow up what I used to know
Can’t walk back down from this kind of road
Seat-back tray with a plastic cup
Ice clink loud while the plane climbs up
Turbulence shakes what I won’t confess
Every bump like a hand on my stubborn chest
Flight attendant smile say, “you okay?”
I nod, but my pulse got a different wave
I been running from talkin’ since last July
Now the cabin lights dim, nowhere to hide
You said, “love is a risk not a cage”
But I fenced you in with my pride and rage
Now I’m high above all the things I broke
Clouds look soft, but they choke my throat (yeah)
[Pre-Chorus]
Tray table up, but I’m laid wide open
Altitude high, but my guard fallin’
If this whole thing drops from the painted sky
Would I be at peace or a sorry guy?
[Chorus]
We takin’ off, takin’ off, straight through the doubt
Wheels lift up as the lights go out
Heart in my throat while the ground draws back
All that weight get light when the nose tilt up like that
We takin’ off, takin’ off, cut through the blue
Runway behind, only way is through
If I don’t trust this climb I stay the same
So I lean in deep as the steel bird breaks the chains (yeah, breaks the chains)
[Bridge]
[beat drops to low piano and strings, vocal almost whispered]
I left pieces of me at security gate
Shoes in a tray, soul on display
You said, “text me when you land, don’t be late”
I been late to your heart, now I’m racing fate
Clouds like cotton, but the truth hit harder
Cabin air thin, but my thoughts run farther
What if touchdown mean I gotta change?
What if staying high just keep me strange?
[Verse 3]
Seatbelt sign off but I’m still locked in
Mind doing circles like a holding pattern
Look out the window, horizon on fire
Sunset paint strokes over old desires
Order one more drink, call it liquid nerve
But your name in the ice, that’s what I observe
Every cube melt like the time we lost
Little clear stones for a heavy cost
Pilot say “we begin descent soon”
Cabin lights bloom like a living room
This the part where the dream turns real
Sky give us back to the world of steel
I been up here dodging what I owe
Floating in a pressurized glow
But the ground got questions, your