Shattered & collecting pieces

Verse 1
I was seventeen when I signed up
Still a kid with borrowed pride
Thought if I ran toward the fire
I’d outrun what was inside
Came home with steady hands
But somethin’ in me shifted slow
Turns out the things you bury
Are the things that grow

—

Pre-Chorus
I learned how to stand in chaos
Learned how to take a hit
But nobody teaches you
How to sit with it

—

Chorus
There’s a hole in the middle of my chest
Where a few good men used to stand
I keep tryin’ to fill it
With fightin’ harder than I can
I don’t quit
I don’t fold
But it’s heavy holdin’ ghosts
There’s a hole in the middle of my chest
And I feel it the most
When it’s quiet

—

Verse 2
I’ve lost people I swore
I could somehow keep alive
Like if I loved ‘em hard enough
They’d make it through the night
You take the classes
They tell you it ain’t your blame
But that don’t stop the question
When you hear their name

—

Pre-Chorus
I keep playin’ it back
Like a tape won’t break
Wonderin’ if there’s one more move
I forgot to make

—

Chorus
There’s a hole in the middle of my chest
Where a few good men used to be
I keep tryin’ to carry
What wasn’t mine to keep
I don’t quit
I don’t fold
But I’m tired of bein’ strong
There’s a hole in the middle of my chest
But I’m still holdin’ on

—

Bridge (raw, personal)

I don’t want my boy growin’ up
With this weight in his blood
Thinkin’ love means savin’ everyone
Or he ain’t enough
I don’t want him fightin’ shadows
That were never his to own
I’ll take the heavy
So he won’t feel alone

—

Final Chorus (shift toward purpose)

There’s a hole in the middle of my chest
And maybe there always will
But I’m not layin’ down
And I’m not standin’ still
If I can’t fix the past
I can build what’s next
I’ll teach him he’s wanted
I’ll teach him respect
There’s a hole in the middle of my chest
But it ain’t takin’ me yet

 Cameron Whitcomb, Eminem, with heavy screaming, rock, metal