I never deserved it

**[Intro — whispered]**

They told me pain was punishment,

That I was born to take the blame.

I was just a child begging for love—

But I learned to answer to my name with shame.

**[Verse 1]**

Small hands shaking underneath the bed,

Trying not to hear the words inside my head.

Every slammed door sounded like a warning,

Every night I prayed for a different morning.

I learned to read the footsteps in the hall,

Learned that silence wouldn't save me at all.

They called it discipline, called it my fault,

So I carried their anger like a chain I had bought.

I grew up believing I deserved every scar,

That being hurt was simply who we are.

I blamed the child staring back at me—

For wounds inflicted before I could even see.

**[Pre-Chorus]**

For years I believed the lie,

That I was born to suffer and hide.

But there's a voice beneath the shame

Screaming through the years:

**[Chorus — screamed]**

**I NEVER DESERVED IT!**

I WAS ONLY A CHILD!

You called your cruelty justice,

But I called it my life!

**I NEVER DESERVED IT!**

Every bruise, every tear!

The fault was never mine—

**I WAS NEVER THE ONE WHO SHOULD HAVE LIVED IN FEAR!**

**[Verse 2]**

I carried their voices long after they were gone,

Woke up every morning convinced I had done wrong.

I punished myself for things I couldn't control,

Turned their hatred inward and buried my soul.

I became my own executioner,

Repeating every word they said.

“How could you deserve forgiveness?”

When I couldn't forgive the kid they left for dead.

But now I see that frightened face,

And I don't turn away.

I kneel beside that broken child

And finally hear him say:

**[Bridge — clean vocals]**

“I didn't ask for this.

I didn't cause their rage.

I didn't deserve their hatred.

I didn't deserve the pain.”

**[Build — whispered → screamed]**

It wasn't my fault.

It wasn't my shame.

I was a child—

**AND I WAS NEVER TO BLAME!**

**[Breakdown]**

**I WAS A CHILD!**

**I WAS AFRAID!**

**THEY WERE WRONG!**

**I WAS NOT TO BLAME!**

Every scar—

**NOT MINE TO CARRY!**

Every lie—

**NOT MINE TO BURY!**

You tried to make me hate myself—

**BUT I'M STILL HERE!**

**[Final Chorus — full force]**

**I NEVER DESERVED IT!**

I WAS ONLY A CHILD!

You gave me fear and called it love,

You gave me pain and called it right!

**I NEVER DESERVED IT!**

And I finally know the truth:

The child I was deserved protection—

**NOT THE HELL YOU PUT HIM THROUGH!**

**[Outro — quiet]**

I forgive the child...

For surviving.

I forgive the child...

For believing the lie.

And I leave their voices

Where they belong—

**Behind me.**