Better Than Before

[Verse 1]
Ashtray on the windowsill
Mama on the couch, so still
Empty fridge, one box of rice
Cartoons on, turn up the light
Broken door from another fight
I’d count cracks just to kill the night
Hands on my ears, but I still heard
Every ugly, twisted word
[Chorus]
I was raised on shouting, slammed doors, cold floors
Thought love meant walking on glass
But I’m holding my son, I’m cutting those cords
I’m not what you were in the past
I’m learning slow, I’m bleeding sore
But I’ll be better than before
Yeah, I’m breaking every pattern I was born in
So he never has to meet my torment
[Verse 2]
Wake up sweating from the same old dream
Little boy hiding under beams
My kid’s room down the hall, night-light blue
I stand there just staring at his shoes
Hands still shake when the phone lights up
Your name burns like the bottom of a cup
I feel that rage rising in my spine
Then I see his face, and I swallow mine
[Chorus]
I was raised on shouting, slammed doors, cold floors
Thought love meant walking on glass
But I’m holding my son, I’m cutting those cords
I’m not what you were in the past
I’m learning slow, I’m bleeding sore
But I’ll be better than before
Yeah, I’m breaking every pattern I was born in
So he never has to meet my torment
[Bridge]
[Choir swelling, distant and haunting]
You live in the corners of my mind
In the silence, in the dark outline
But you don’t get to cross this line
You stop with me, you stop with me
[Choir rises, drums hit harder]
Every bruise that you left on my name
I turn into a shield, not a chain
I carry the fire, not the flame
You stop with me, you stop with me (yeah)
[Chorus]
I was raised on shouting, slammed doors, cold floors
Thought love meant walking on glass
But I’m holding my son, I’m cutting those cords
I’m not what you were in the past
I’m learning slow, I’m bleeding sore
But I’ll be better than before
Yeah, I’m breaking every pattern I was born in
So he only ever knows he’s wanted
[Outro]
Broken keys in a quiet room
He sleeps safe, and I hum a tune (oh)
I don’t know much, but I know this truth
I’ll bleed out before I turn into you

rap, Dark trap beat with detuned, broken piano stabs and deep sub-bass. Male vocals raw and close-miked, verses almost spoken with cracked emotion. Hook widens with airy pads and distant choral layers tucked low. Bridge swells into full choir and booming drums, then drops back to intimate piano and voice for the final chorus.