(Verse 1)
You tuck your secrets in the seams of every coat you wear
You keep your laughter folded like a map you never share
You move through rooms like you’ve forgotten how to stay
But there’s a spark under the collar that won’t look away
(Pre-Chorus)
When you fix a crooked tie or stare at an old postcard
Your fingers find the grammar of the small and the marred
(Chorus)
What makes you tick, tell me the clock beneath your chest
Is it the quiet promise or the hymn you hide from rest
Are you a firework, scheduled to explode at midnight’s cue
Or a compass pointing home when the world forgets you
What makes you tick, lay down the pieces one by one
I’ll hold the scattered starlight until you learn to run
(Verse 2)
You hum the songs you shouldn’t know in trembling, silver tones
Plant little flags inside your pockets for the places you’ll never own
You barter honesty for safety, wear bravery like borrowed shoes
And keep a diary of small rebellions inked in yesterday’s news
(Pre-Chorus)
When you whisper to the mirror, telling truths that sound like dare
I watch the way your shadow practices becoming air
(Chorus)
What makes you tick, tell me the clock beneath your chest
Is it a stubborn moon that wants to keep you from the rest
Are you a pocket watch that hides a photograph of youth
Or a lighthouse, steady, keeping someone’s reckless truth
What makes you tick, peel back the copper and the rust
There’s a pulse beneath the machinery that needs to trust
(Bridge)
Tick-tock, the chorus of the good and the bitter
Tick-tock, a lullaby for the brave and the quitter
Some count their lives in victories, some in the small delights
Some keep time by holding on; some keep time by flight
(Breakdown)
Sing softer now, let the screws breathing rhythm slow
Name the thing you feared you'd lose and then we’ll let it go
(Chorus)
What makes you tick, tell me the clock beneath your chest
Is it the reckless morning or the hush before the test
Are you a pocketful of wishes, trembling ready to unspool
Or a steady metronome that learned to love the fool
What makes you tick, take all your doubts and hand them in
I’ll teach your quiet heartbeat how to march and how to spin
(Reprise / Tag)
What makes you tick, oh tell me what you keep inside
A compass, a confetti, a secret, a tide
Tick-tock, come live by that sound tonight
Tick-tock, I promise we’ll be all right
