IntroI still know his name...
I still know his face.
But when I look into the mirror—
He isn't there.
Not anymore.
Verse 1I used to measure every word
By how it made them feel
Changed myself to fit the room
And called the compromise real
I learned to smile when I was angry
Learned to stay when I should leave
Built my life around approval
Then wondered why I couldn't breathe
I thought that being needed
Meant I finally had a place
But every time I saved the world
I disappeared without a trace
ChorusI left the man I used to be
Not because I hated him
He carried me
As far as he could go
He taught me how to survive
But survival isn't life
So I left him in the silence
At the end of that old road
No funeral
No goodbye
Just one last look behind
I became the man
He was too afraid to find
Verse 2Now I don't chase every answer
I don't beg the door to stay
If somebody wants to leave me
I don't stand there in their way
I don't confuse being wanted
With abandoning myself
And sometimes in the quiet
I still hear that old voice say—
"Be careful."
"Don't lose them."
"Maybe you should change."
But fear sounds different now
When you've heard it
A thousand times.
Eventually—
It stops sounding like truth.
BridgeMaybe growth isn't becoming
Maybe it's removing
Every lie
Every mask
Every borrowed expectation
Until nothing remains
But the part of you
That never needed permission.
Black Metal BreakLET IT BURN.
EVERY NAME THEY GAVE ME.
LET IT FALL.
EVERY CAGE I CALLED HOME.
I DON'T OWE MY PAST
ANOTHER FUCKING DAY.
I SURVIVED AS HIM—
BUT I WILL NOT DIE THAT WAY.
Final ChorusI left the man I used to be
And finally understood—
He wasn't weak
He was becoming
The best way that he could
He taught me how to survive
Then handed me his life
And somewhere in the silence
I finally chose mine
No funeral
No goodbye
No reason left to hide
I became the man
He was too afraid to find
OutroI still know his name...
I still know his face.
I carry what he gave me.
But I don't live
In his place.
Not anymore.
