[INTRO – clean guitar, room noise]
(LOW AMP HUM)
I keep the lights off on purpose…
---
[VERSE 1 – soft, intimate]
I draw the lines around my eyes
So you don’t see the ones inside
I learned to smile just right on cue
So nobody asks what I go through
There’s a version of me I let you keep
The one that laughs, the one that speaks
But every mirror tells the truth—
When there’s something missing in the proof
---
[PRE-CHORUS – tension]
I say I’m fine like it’s a script
Rehearsed so well I never slip
But every word I counterfeit
Comes back to cut a little bit
---
[CHORUS – lift → hit]
[SUNG – strained]
I CAN’T HOLD THIS IN TONIGHT
IT’S CRAWLING UP MY SPINE
I PAINT IT BLACK SO NO ONE SEES
WHAT’S EATING ME ALIVE
[YELL]
IF I SCREAM WILL IT SOUND RIGHT?
OR JUST ECHO IN MY MIND?
I WASH MY FACE BUT IT WON’T FADE—
THE BLACK LINES DON’T WASH OFF THIS TIME
---
[RIFF]
---
[VERSE 2 – heavier imagery]
I count the cracks along the wall
Like they’re a map of where I fall
Every night is another rerun
Of who I was and what I’ve done
I keep receipts of every doubt
A ledger I can’t balance out
The interest grows in silent rooms
Where quiet learns from abuse
---
[PRE-CHORUS – tighter]
Don’t ask me how, don’t make me say
I’ll joke it off, I’ll look away
But if you stay a second late
You’ll hear the part I can’t contain
---
[CHORUS – bigger]
[SUNG]
I CAN’T HOLD THIS IN TONIGHT
IT’S CRAWLING UP MY SPINE
I PAINT IT BLACK SO NO ONE SEES
WHAT’S EATING ME ALIVE
[YELL]
IF I SCREAM WILL IT SOUND RIGHT?
OR JUST ECHO IN MY MIND?
I WASH MY FACE BUT IT WON’T FADE—
THE BLACK LINES DON’T WASH OFF THIS TIME
---
[BRIDGE – drop to almost nothing]
(CLEAN GUITAR, BREATH)
I’m tired of hiding in my skin
Of folding pain again and again
If I let go—what would remain?
A name? A face? Or just a stain…
---
[BUILD – drums enter]
(HEARTBEAT KICK)
Say it out loud—say it out loud—
---
[FINAL CHORUS – full release]
[FULL BAND]
[YELL/SING]
I CAN’T HOLD THIS IN TONIGHT!
I’M DONE PRETENDING I’M ALRIGHT!
I PAINT IT BLACK—IT BLEEDS THROUGH ME—
THERE’S NO MORE HIDING WHAT I SEE!
[SCREAM]
IF I BREAK—AT LEAST IT’S REAL!
IF I CRACK—AT LEAST I FEEL!
I WASH MY FACE BUT IT WON’T FADE—
THE BLACK LINES ARE HERE TO STAY!
---
[OUTRO – collapse]
(CLEAN GUITAR)
(WHISPER)
…they don’t wash off…
(AMP HUM FADES)
Phantom_X
