

Prompt / Lyrics
[Verse 1] They carved your face in the mountain But forgot how your voice used to shake You laughed in the teeth of the cannon Then came home too broken to break They sing of the battles you carried Not the bottle you carried instead All of the flags on the courthouse Never once asked how you bled [Chorus] You were a legend to them But a ghost to yourself Last to leave the fire First to put your heart on the shelf They built you a story You couldn’t live up to Now every time they praise your name It sounds like it’s killing you [Verse 2] They tell all the kids you were fearless They don’t mention the nights that you cried Sitting up straight in the kitchen Afraid of your own swollen pride Your armor still hangs in the hallway Dust on the dents and the seams Sometimes it clatters at midnight Like it’s shaking out all of your screams [Chorus] You were a legend to them But a ghost to yourself Last to leave the fire First to put your heart on the shelf They built you a story You couldn’t live up to Now every time they praise your name It sounds like it’s killing you [Bridge] Did you want to be holy Or just finally get some sleep? (oh) They turned your hurt into glory Left you the wounds to keep And I light a match in the doorway Whisper “I know what is true” Behind every tale of a hero Is a child nobody knew [Chorus] You were a legend to them But a ghost to yourself Last to leave the fire First to put your heart on the shelf They built you a story You couldn’t live up to So I’ll stop them singing your name tonight And just sit in the dark With you
Tags
Moody indie ballad with male vocals; fingerpicked acoustic guitar and distant piano, low drones like wind through an empty hall. Verses stay hushed and close-mic’d; chorus blooms with reverb-heavy harmonies and floor-tom swells. Subtle strings creep in on the bridge, then everything falls back to near-silence on the final line., sad
3:37
No
1/27/2026