[Verse 1]
I thought you’d find me by the smoke and the sound
By the broken rails and the burned-out ground
I counted days like they were stepping stones
But no one’s coming down these roads
I hear your name in the hammer and steel
In every shape I pretend is real
But the lines I draw don’t lead you here
They just make my cage more clear
[Pre-Chorus]
And I kept saying, just hold on
Like time was something we could lean on
[Chorus]
But I saw them marching in a borrowed way
Heard my world in the words they say
They’re learning us, they’re wearing our skin
Turning our strength into where we’ve been
So I won’t wait for a light or a sign
I’ll carve a path out of what is mine
If I can’t run, then I’ll redesign
Every lock, every wall, every line
I’m getting out—quiet as breath
Building a way they won’t suspect
[Verse 2]
There’s a man with a voice I used to trust
Teaching monsters to move like us
Step by step and line by line
Turning chaos into design
And I felt something in me break
Not fear—just something I can’t unmake
If they can learn, then we can lose
And waiting here is how we choose
[Pre-Chorus]
I stopped praying for a change of tide
Started measuring what I could hide
[Chorus]
’Cause I saw them marching in a borrowed way
Heard my world in the words they say
They’re learning us, they’re wearing our skin
Turning our strength into where we’ve been
So I won’t wait for a light or a sign
I’ll carve a path out of what is mine
If I can’t run, then I’ll redesign
Every lock, every wall, every line
I’m getting out—quiet as breath
Building a way they won’t suspect
[Bridge (soft, building)]
No paper trails, no written plans
Just numbers buried in my hands
In every tool, in every frame
A map that never says its name
If I look lost, if I obey
It’s just another part I play
’Cause freedom doesn’t shout or fight
Sometimes it’s hidden out of sight
[Break / Drop]
(oh-oh-oh)
Count the steps, don’t miss a beat
(oh-oh-oh)
Every pattern is a key
(oh-oh-oh)
What they gave, I’ll re-align
Turn their system into mine
[Final Chorus (lifted, urgent)]
I saw them marching in a borrowed way
Now I’m done with the games we play
They can take the steel, the fire, the land
But they won’t take the way I plan
So I won’t wait for a light or a sign
I’ll carve a path out of what is mine
If I can’t run, then I’ll redesign
Every lock, every wall, every line
I’m getting out—quiet as breath
Carrying hope they won’t detect
[Outro (quiet, resolved)]
Donna, if you can’t find me now…
I’ll find my way back somehow.
ElCeviche
