[Intro] [bright electric guitar eighth notes, staccato strings] (Ha-oh-oh-oh, ha-oh-oh-oh)
[Verse 1] [bass and drums enter] Father on the podium, mother on the strings I learned before I could read what a perfect note means Scales before breakfast, Beethoven by eight A life already written before I learned my name The halls were gold, the applause was real But something in my hands kept reaching for a sound I couldn’t feel Proper, precise, every measure in its place I played it all perfectly and felt nothing in that space
[Pre-Chorus] Then I heard it through a window on a Tuesday night Something loud and wrong and often absolutely right
[Chorus] It was broken, it was raw, it was out of key But it felt like it was made for me No conductor, no design Just chaos ringing out in time I let it shake what I’d become All that silence coming undone Yeah, I found truth in the dissonance In every wrong note, I found some sense (Ha-oh-oh-oh, ha-oh-oh-oh)
[Verse 2] I stayed there frozen, counting every beat Of something reckless moved inside of me No sheet, no rules, no careful hands Just broken noise I could understand I tried to play it the way I was taught But every note felt like it came out wrong So I let it slip, I let it fall apart And something wild took hold inside my heart
[Pre-Chorus] Then I heard it through a window on a Thursday morning Something loud and wild and absolutely hurting
[Chorus] It was broken, it was raw, it was out of key But it felt like it was made for me No conductor, no design Just chaos ringing out in time I let it shake what I’d become All that silence coming undone Yeah, I found truth in the dissonance In every wrong note, I found some sense
[Bridge] Back in the halls, it all felt small Every perfect line just hit a wall They said control is everything But I was chasing something I could feel My fingers slipped where they stayed in line I started bending every written sign What once was wrong became my truth A different voice I couldn’t mute
[Pre-Chorus] Now I’m playing on a Saturday night Something loud and wild and finally right
[Chorus] I don’t need their rules to know what’s right I found my sound in the dead of night No more pressure to play it clean I found my freedom in the in-between Let it break, let it unfold Not every story has to be told I’m more than notes on a printed page I’m finally writing my own stage (Ha-oh-oh-oh, ha-oh-oh-oh)
[CODA - quieter, just guitar at first] I was somewhere new, playing for no one When they walked in off the street Said: we’ve been looking for someone Who plays like they actually mean it
No audition, no conductor’s nod Just: do you want to build this with us?
(beat)
I looked down at my hands. No chart. No plan.
[Final line - one beat, then silence] I set down the sheet.
And said yes.