Laughing While I’m Breaking

[Verse 1]
Show up early
Stay too late
Got my pride laced tight
Like work boots on the grate
I’m sketching better systems
In the margins of my day
Whole plan in my pocket
They just file it away
[Pre-Chorus]
I’m holding all these upgrades
Like blueprints in my hands
But they only see the surface
Never learn to understand
[Chorus]
I’m laughing while I’m breaking
So they think I’m fine
They joke about my body
Like it’s all in my mind
If you felt this fire
Running jagged through your bones
You’d know every single punchline
Cuts a notch into my soul
[Verse 2]
Incurable label
Stamped across my chart
But they toss it like a sticker
On the back of a shopping cart
They say "toughen up"
They say "it can’t hurt that bad"
I swallow all the answers
Till I’m sick from staying "glad"
[Pre-Chorus]
I keep the water steady
While a storm is in my chest
They’re busy making memes
Out of the things that steal my rest
[Chorus]
I’m laughing while I’m breaking
So they think I’m fine
They joke about my body
Like it’s all in my mind
If you felt this fire
Running jagged through your bones
You’d know every single punchline
Cuts a notch into my soul
[Bridge]
I don’t want your pity
I want you to see
How heavy this is
When it looks like "easy"
I’m still here working
Heart split, hands whole
Every step is courage
You will never know
[Chorus]
I’m laughing while I’m breaking
But I’m still in the fight
My pride is in the trying
Not in getting this right
If you felt this fire
Running jagged through your bones
You’d hold your words more gentle
Where they land inside my soul

Moody alt-pop with intimate male vocals, soft piano over warm bass, and subtle electronic pulses. Verses stay close and confessional; chorus widens with airy synth pads, stacked harmonies, and a steady kick. Bridge strips down to near a cappella tension, then final chorus hits harder with extra vocal ad-libs and a bright top-line guitar counter-melody., soul