Verse 1 - the commitment meets reality] I said I’d do the thing and then I did the thing And now the thing is done and here we are And the version of me that was so certain about it Is standing here accounting for the cost
I knew there’d be a cost from the start I said I knew and I think I believed it by heart But knowing a cost and feeling a cost are very different sentences And here’s what’s leaving
[Pre-Chorus - voices taking notes again] Write it down— (writing) Loss one— (go) Loss two— (logging) How many more? (keep going)
[Chorus] Losses and gains Here’s what I’m trading for the thing I can’t name yet Trading everything from plastics to the fame The math on this is terrifying and correct I know what goes in the left column (the hard part) And I can feel what’s building in the right (the worth it part) Losses and gains I made the call I’m doing the math now
[Verse 2 - the specific inventory] The version of me that the comfortable people liked Is harder to maintain from this side of the jump The people who showed up for the manageable version Are going to have to meet a different one
And there are things I built for someone else’s blueprint That I’ll have to take apart and reassign And the dismantling is slower than the building And louder than I’d planned
[[Pre-Chorus - more honest now] Still worth it— (yes?) I think so— (probably) The right column— (is filling) Slowly (it is)
[Chorus] Losses and gains Here’s what I’m trading for the thing I can’t name yet Trading everything from hassles to the blame The math on this is terrifying and correct I know what goes in the left column (the hard part) And I can feel what’s building in the right (the worth it part) Losses and gains I made the call I’m doing the math now
[Bridge - the risk declaration] I’ve been running these numbers for three days (that’s a lot) And they come out different every time (of course they do) Because the gain side is still an estimate (still writing) And estimates are not the same as final
But here’s what I know— (what do you know?) The left column has a ceiling (it does) And the right column— Doesn’t (oh)
Every risk I’ve taken that was real The gain column never stopped growing And the losses— they were real But they made room
[Pre-Chorus - decided] So the math is not mathing But I’ll figure it out I know which ones need to go I know which ones are gonna stay
[Final Chorus - key lift] Losses and gains I know exactly what I’m trading now Traded everything got my name back somehow And I’d trade it all again if that’s what’s next The left column had a ceiling And the right column just kept going Losses and gains I made the call I know the math And I’m going anyway
[Outro] Running the numbers. (still running) Left column capped. (capped) Right column— (still going) Open. (open)
…worth it? (ask me later) But going. (definitely going)
Got my name back - it’s go time. (GO!)