What Happened To Being A Kid

[Verse 1]
Skinned knees
Grass stains
Cartoons way too early in the morning
Cheap shoes
Sunburn
Never checked the time
Just kept on running
Trading cards on the cracked front steps
Big plans made out of sidewalk chalk
Every little thing felt huge back then
We didn't care how weird we talked
[Chorus]
What happened to being a kid?
When did we start hiding our joy?
We used to wake up ready to live
Now we're tired before we even start
What happened to loving every day?
Laughing 'til our ribs would ache
I wanna feel that reckless faith again
What happened to being a kid?
[Verse 2]
Bus ride
Back seat
Singing wrong words way too loud
Late nights
Hide-and-seek
Whispers turning into howling crowds
Now it's deadlines
Blue light in my face
Scrolling through a life that feels on hold
I miss caring more about the game
Than how the story's getting told
[Chorus]
What happened to being a kid?
When did we start hiding our joy?
We used to wake up ready to live
Now we're tired before we even start
What happened to loving every day?
Laughing 'til our ribs would ache
I wanna feel that reckless faith again
What happened to being a kid?
[Bridge]
Maybe it's still there
Under all this weight we carry
If I let myself be unprepared
Could the world feel less scary? (oh)
I'll jump the fence
I'll scrape my hands
Just to feel that rush again
[Chorus]
What happened to being a kid?
When did we start hiding our joy?
We used to wake up ready to live
Now we're tired before we even start
What happened to loving every day?
Laughing 'til our ribs would ache
I wanna feel that reckless faith again
What happened to being a kid?

Nostalgic alt-pop with clean electric guitar riffs, steady midtempo drums, and warm male vocals. Verses stay intimate and close-mic’d over sparse chords; chorus widens with stacked harmonies, tambourine, and a bright bass groove. Light synth pad blooms in the bridge for an emotional lift, then everything drops back to guitar and voice for the last hook.