Free in the Dark

[Verse 1]
You been hidin' in your skin
Like the mirror got teeth
Every smile feels borrowed
Every word feels cheap
Bad past got a grip
Still tuggin' at your sleeve
You keep one foot in the door
But you don't know how to leave
Hands shake when you speak up
So you swallow that fear
Old pain in the backseat
Still ridin' up here
You say, "I don't trust me"
Then you look away
But the real you been knockin'
All night, all day
[Pre-Chorus]
You don't need to disappear
You don't need to perform
That hurt was a storm
Not the shape you were born
[Chorus]
Free, let it break free
Free, let it break free
You are not your bad past (not your bad past)
You can still become you (become you)
Free, let it break free
Free, let it break free
Say it loud, let it live
I was buried, now I breathe (now I breathe)
[Verse 2]
Seen too much too young
Now your heart stays armed
Every new face feels like
They came to do you harm
So you build little walls
Out of late-night pain
Try to call it protection
But it locks up the chain
You ain't crazy, baby
You just learned to survive
But survive ain't the same thing
As being alive
There's a name on your future
And it ain't fear
Take one step, then another
You'll get clear
[Pre-Chorus]
You don't need to disappear
You don't need to perform
That hurt was a storm
Not the shape you were born
[Chorus]
Free, let it break free
Free, let it break free
You are not your bad past (not your bad past)
You can still become you (become you)
Free, let it break free
Free, let it break free
Say it loud, let it live
I was buried, now I breathe (now I breathe)
[Bridge]
Look at me now
I'm not that bruise
I'm not the lies
I'm not the use
If I fall, I rise
If I shake, I stay
I got one real face
And I'm keepin' it this way
[Final Chorus]
Free, let it break free
Free, let it break free
You are not your bad past (not your bad past)
You can still become you (become you)
Free, let it break free
Free, let it break free
Say it loud, let it live
I was buried, now I breathe (now I breathe)

Rap with a slow, half-time bounce and dry kick-snare snap; verse rides tense and confessional with tight triplet pockets, pre-chorus opens into held notes and stacked ad-libs, chorus hits with a short chant and doubled lead vocals. Add reversed piano swells before the hook, vinyl crackle between lines, and a low sub swell under the last word of each chorus. Mix is intimate, gritty, and punchy with the voice sitting right in front., rap