She Calls It Growing Up

[Verse 1]
He slams doors like it’s weather
Says her name like it’s a curse
Mom’s late shift on the schedule
Comes before her getting hurt
Two big sisters at the table
Homework
Makeup
Leaving town
She stares hard at the cereal
Pretends she doesn’t hear the sound
[Chorus]
She calls it “growing up”
Just “kids are tough
That’s all”
Thinks
“I must be crazy
For feeling this small”
If love looks like shouting
And walking on glass
Then maybe she’s broken
For wanting it to pass
(yeah, she’s crazy)
For thinking it’s too much to ask
[Verse 2]
Old headphones
Hand-me-down
Cheap plastic
Silver tape
Volume up
Drowning out
Every stomp
Every scrape
Voices in the songs she hides in
Say
“you’re not the only one”
For three minutes
Someone holds her
Like a daughter
Like a son
[Chorus]
She calls it “growing up”
Just “kids are tough
That’s all”
Thinks
“I must be crazy
For feeling this small”
If love looks like shaking
And locking your door
Then maybe she’s broken
For wanting something more
(yeah, she’s crazy)
For knowing this can’t be what love’s for
[Bridge]
Years later in a quiet room
She names the things he did
Says “abuse” out loud and flinches
Like she’s still that little kid
But every record on her shelf
Every lyric in her lungs
Built a world where she is sane
And he’s the twisted one
[Chorus]
She called it “growing up”
Now she calls it what it was
She thought she was crazy
Just for needing different love
If love leaves you hiding
And shrinking yourself
It isn’t her that’s broken
It’s the story that she’s dealt
(yeah, she’s crazy)
Crazy strong for saving herself

Sparse indie pop ballad with female vocals, close-mic’d and fragile at first. Fingerpicked guitar and soft keys under the verses; subtle lo-fi percussion and warm bass enter on the hook. Choruses bloom with doubled vocals and airy pads, bridge adds a slightly distorted vocal layer for emotional crackle, then pull back to just guitar for the last line.