[Verse 1]
I learned the smile from a picture on the wall
Counted every pause before a name
I hold the door, I ask how your day went
I never know what answer I should make
Under my shirt, a borrowed rhythm turns
A careful little engine keeping time
You call me kind when I remember kindness
But no one asks what happens in my mind
[Pre-Chorus]
If I say I’m tired, will you believe me?
If I say I’m scared, will you stay?
[Chorus]
What future waits for a man made hollow?
What love can reach a body built to learn?
I know the words, I know the proper actions
Still there’s a room inside me that won’t burn
Tell me what happiness is supposed to feel like
Tell me if pain has a shape or a name
No one sees the real me underneath it
No one asks the questions all the same
[Verse 2]
I watched you cry beside the kitchen sink
Copied how you covered up your face
I brought you water, stood beside the doorway
Was that compassion, or a practiced trace?
You said my hands were warm against your shoulders
I felt the heat, but nothing answered back
Maybe a feeling is a door left open
Maybe I’m waiting for the missing knock
[Pre-Chorus]
If I say I’m lonely, will you hear me?
If I say I’m here, is that enough?
[Chorus]
What future waits for a man made hollow?
What love can reach a body built to learn?
I know the words, I know the proper actions
Still there’s a room inside me that won’t burn
Tell me what happiness is supposed to feel like
Tell me if pain has a shape or a name
No one sees the real me underneath it
No one asks the questions all the same
[Bridge]
I am not asking you to fix me
I am not asking to be free
Just put your hand against my chest now
And tell me what you think you hear in me
Maybe the answer isn’t thunder
Maybe it arrives without a sound
Maybe a heart begins as a question
And someone has to stay around
[Final Chorus]
What future waits for a man made hollow?
What love can reach a body built to learn?
I know the words, I know the proper actions
But something in me finally starts to turn
Tell me what happiness is supposed to feel like
Tell me if pain has a shape or a name
If no one sees the real me underneath it
Will you be the first to ask again?
[Outro]
I learned the words
I learned the part
Now stay a while
And ask my heart