Only Fear In Here

[Verse 1]
Concrete cage
Keys on a ring like a wedding she never had
He says
"You want peace?
Sign the paper
Stay quiet
Be good
Don't get mad"
Lights buzz
Doors slam
His hand on her file
Then her throat
Then her hip
"One more word
And I’ll make sure you never leave this unit again"
[Chorus]
Only fear in here
Every wall
Every bar knows her name
But the record stays clean
So they act like nothing happened
Like it’s all in her brain
Only fear in here
She got scars that the cameras never see
Do your time
Do your time
Or your time gon' do you
That’s the threat on repeat
[Verse 2]
She writes it all down
Tiny letters on the back of a commissary sheet
Dates
Badge tags
Every time he “lost” her grievance in between
Whispers in chow line
"Girl
They pressed me too
Just take the plea"
They trade looks
Trade stories
Different faces
Same uniform
Same routine
[Chorus]
[Bridge]
Who judges the judges?
Who cuffs the ones with the keys?
She screams in her pillow
So the logbook still says
"housing unit: at peace"
If truth had a hotline
Would it even ring this deep?
Till then it’s head down
Eyes dry
Cause in this place
What you say decides if you’re free
[Chorus]

Minor-key R&B / hip-hop ballad, sparse piano and distant pads over deep, slow drums. Female vocals, intimate and close-mic in the verses, chorus opens with layered harmonies and a haunting vocal chop. Sub-bass swells under the hook, bridge strips back to just piano and vocal before final chorus hits harder with ad-libs and doubled lead.