Verse 1
I learned early how to read the room
Count the cracks before the walls fell through
Smiles spoken louder than the truth
Promises that never stayed immune
I wore my heart like borrowed clothes
Tried to fit where I outgrew
Hands that held me just enough
To remind me what they could undo
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Pre-Chorus
They said, “Stay quiet, play your part”
I nodded while I broke apart
But silence taught me how to hear
The sound of strength when fear departs
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Chorus
I bent, I bruised, I didn’t break
I walked through fire they couldn’t fake
I carried weight that wasn’t mine
Still standing in the light
I lost myself to find my name
Outgrew the rooms that fed on pain
You don’t see scars — you see the shine
Still standing in the light
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Verse 2
There were mirrors with moving faces
Changing rules mid-game, mid-sentence
Gold chains dressed up as chances
Control disguised as common sense
I gave my time, my hands, my faith
Built towers I was never in
When the ladder slipped beneath my feet
They called it “character,” not sin
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Pre-Chorus
Funny how the ones who take
Call loyalty a debt you owe
But pressure makes the diamond rise
And cracks the glass they hide below
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Chorus
I bent, I bruised, I didn’t break
I walked through fire they couldn’t fake
I carried weight that wasn’t mine
Still standing in the light
I lost myself to find my name
Outgrew the rooms that fed on pain
You don’t see scars — you see the shine
Still standing in the light
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Bridge
I stopped explaining my worth
To people paid to misunderstand
Turned my wounds into a map
And finally chose where I stand
What they whispered in the dark
I turned into a spark
Some call it luck, some call it fate
I call it choosing me at last
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Final Chorus (Lift)
I bent, I bruised, I didn’t break
I learned which chains were mine to shake
I made a home inside my spine
Still standing in the light
No more shrinking, no disguise
No more asking to survive
I didn’t just escape the night
I became the light
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Outro
If you hear this and it sounds like you
Then maybe you’ve been there too
Some storms don’t come to drown you out
They come to show you what you can do
ChrisBenecke
