still me

[INTRO — CLEAN GUITAR, BUILDING] (Single clean guitar, arpeggiated, warm. Drums enter bar 5, soft.) [VERSE 1] I've been wearing faces That were never really mine Saying all the right things At exactly the right time Somewhere in the middle Of the life I built for them I forgot the sound Of my own voice again [VERSE 2] I've been running circles Around everything I feel Keeping it together So well nobody knows what's real But the mirror doesn't lie And the mirror doesn't care It just shows you who you are When nobody else is there [PRE-CHORUS] And I'm done with the performance Done with playing small If I'm going to be anything I'd rather be it all [CHORUS — FULL BAND] I am still me Under everything I've been Still me Behind every broken thing I've carried every version That I thought I had to be But underneath it all I am still me Still me [VERSE 3 — DYNAMIC DROPS] (Guitar pulls back, drums brushed) There were years I almost Lost the thread completely Chased a version of myself That didn't fit me neatly But the things that tried to break me Only made the picture clear I know exactly who I am And I'm still here [PRE-CHORUS] And I'm done with the performance Done with playing small If I'm going to be anything I'd rather be it all [CHORUS — FULL BAND] I am still me Under everything I've been Still me Behind every broken thing I've carried every version That I thought I had to be But underneath it all I am still me Still me [BRIDGE — STRIPPED THEN EXPLOSIVE] (Clean guitar only, vocal raw and close) I don't need to be perfect I don't need to be right I just need to be honest With myself tonight (band enters hard on the next line) And that's enough That's always been enough That's enough [GUITAR SOLO — 8 BARS] (Full band, emotive lead guitar, melodic and sustained. Think Times Like These outro energy.) [FINAL CHORUS — BIGGEST MOMENT] I am still me Under everything I've been Still me Behind every broken thing I've carried every version That I thought I had to be (band pulls back, vocal alone on the last lines) But underneath it all I am still me (full band crashes back in) Still me Still me [OUTRO] (Guitar fades slowly, drum hits sparse and deliberate, ends on a single sustained note)