Still Here (Don’t Look at Me Like That)

Verse 1 (Soft, confessional – pop-punk emo vibe)

Mama dropped me off, didn’t wanna look back

Kept my sister close, I was the one she forgot

Said love was conditional, based on who she was with

Told a fifteen-year-old she’d be dead to her if

She ever got pregnant from a nightmare she didn’t choose

Guess I learned real young what not to expect from you

Burn on my arm, still burns in my head

Funny how the scars grow up with you instead

Pre-Chorus (Builds)

I learned how to be quiet in rooms full of screams

How to smile through shit nobody should see

I was a kid trying to survive adult sins

They broke me in places I didn’t know existed

Chorus (Big, emotional – Don’t Freak Out energy)

Don’t look at me like I’m crazy for bleeding inside

I’ve been fighting wars I don’t post online

If I seem cold, it’s ‘cause I learned how to freeze

When nobody showed up for the kid in me

I don’t need saving, I just need you to see

I’m not dramatic, I’m traumatized, please

I’m still here, yeah I’m still here

Even when I don’t wanna be

⸻

Verse 2 (Darker, faster delivery)

Dad in prison, taught me what men could be

Then he came back talking reckless ‘bout me

Left again like I was nothing to lose

Left me with memories I never asked to choose

Cigarette burn, dresser on my chest

Hands on my body I didn’t consent

Family tree poisoned at the roots

So I learned to numb myself just to get through

Pre-Chorus 2

They told me it was my fault when I was hurt

Like pain has a dress code, like trauma wears skirts

So I swallowed the shame and I blamed my skin

For the hands that touched me and the blood on my chin

Chorus (Repeat, more intense)

Don’t look at me like I’m crazy for bleeding inside

I’ve been fighting wars I don’t post online

If I seem cold, it’s ‘cause I learned how to freeze

When nobody showed up for the kid in me

I don’t need saving, I just need you to see

I’m not dramatic, I’m traumatized, please

I’m still here, yeah I’m still here

Even when I don’t wanna be

⸻

Bridge (Breakdown – spoken/sung, almost whispered)

They loved me in pieces

Used me in full

Called me a problem

For bleeding when I was cut

I stayed for the kids

Stayed through the pain

Stayed ‘cause I thought love was supposed to hurt this way

Now I’m sleeping on couches with my heart in my hands

Trying to build a safe home on broken plans

⸻

Final Chorus (Big, emotional release)

Don’t look at me like I’m weak for still standing up

I carried too much, yeah I carried enough

I’ve been the mother I never had

I’ve been the shield, I’ve been the dad

If I’m still breathing, that’s a fucking win

If I’m still trying, let me call it strength

I’m still here, yeah I’m still here

Even when I don’t wanna be