[Verse 1]
Memphis heat on my skin like a bruise
Mama said, “Boy, keep your head in the room”
But the walls got ears and the house got hands
And I learned real young how to swallow the pan
He left like smoke through a screen door crack
No goodbye note, just a hole in the back
Now I flinch at love when it says my name
'Cause it sounds too sweet when it comes in vain
[Pre-Chorus]
I been holding my breath so long
I forgot what safe feels like
Every good thing turns too fast
Then it fades when I blink, right?
[Chorus]
Don’t touch my scars
They still remember
Don’t call it love
If it burns forever
I’m still here
I’m still breathing
Hold me close
Then tell me you mean it
Don’t touch my scars
(hold me close)
Don’t touch my scars
(tell me you mean it)
[Verse 2]
She wore red flags like a favorite dress
Pulled me in close, then she used my chest
Said, “You’re too much,” then she fed that lie
Now my own heartbeat sounds like goodbye
I got the fight in me, I got the shame
Same old wound with a different name
Try to build a home with a shaking hand
But the floor caves in when I understand
[Pre-Chorus]
I been holding my breath so long
I forgot what safe feels like
Every good thing turns too fast
Then it fades when I blink, right?
[Chorus]
Don’t touch my scars
They still remember
Don’t call it love
If it burns forever
I’m still here
I’m still breathing
Hold me close
Then tell me you mean it
Don’t touch my scars
(hold me close)
Don’t touch my scars
(tell me you mean it)
[Bridge]
If I go quiet, don’t read it as gone
I’m just wrestling the dark I was raised on
Little boy in the hallway, fists in his side
Still hears that door slam deep inside
But I want more than a life made of pain
More than the ash and the aftertaste
If you stay, stay true
If you leave, leave clean
I can’t keep bleeding for what love means
[Final Chorus]
Don’t touch my scars
They still remember
Don’t call it love
If it burns forever
I’m still here
I’m still breathing
Hold me close
Then tell me you mean it
Don’t touch my scars
(hold me close)
Don’t touch my scars
(tell me you mean it)
Don’t touch my scars
They still remember
Don’t touch my scars
I’m still breathing