When We Were Real”

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🎸 [Verse 1 – Soft, clean guitar, nostalgic tone]

We were kings of the block

Scraped knees and sidewalk chalk

Trading dreams in corner stores

Where a dollar could buy us more

Streetlights were our curfews

And bruises made us proud

Before the noise, before the scroll

Before we got too loud

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🎤 [Pre-Chorus – Gentle vocal, bittersweet]

We talked about forever

With busted shoes and hearts so clever

But somewhere time just slipped away…

And nothing gold can stay

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🔥 [Chorus – Emotional, powerful vocals]

Take me back to when we were real

Before we learned how to lie and feel

Before the world taught us how to break

And friends turned strangers for ego’s sake

Back when cuts were medals, not signs of pain

And we swore we’d never change

But time moved fast, and life got mean…

Take me back to when we were real

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🎸 [Verse 2 – Slightly heavier, gritty emotion creeping in]

Elementary to high school walls

We stuck together through it all

Until I left — and you all stayed

And even that couldn’t hold the weight

Girls came first, trust fell last

The bond we built cracked so fast

We stopped talking, started scrolling

All that love… just slowly corroding

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🎤 [Pre-Chorus – Softer, emotional build]

The internet said we were connected

But I’ve never felt more disconnected

From the ones who knew me best…

Before the world put us to the test

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🔥 [Chorus – Stronger, heavier instrumentation]

Take me back to when we were real

Before fake smiles replaced how we feel

Before betrayals and ghosted calls

Before our fortress learned to fall

Back when dreams were just up the block

And pain had names, not just TikToks

Before we forgot how to heal…

Take me back to when we were real

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🎸 [Bridge – Spoken word over stripped guitar]

We used to swear we’d ride or die

Now I scroll past your life like a stranger online

And I wonder if you ever think of the way we were…

Before this world turned hearts to blur

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🔥 [Final Chorus – Big, emotional swell with full band]

Take me back to when we were real

Before time numbed what we could feel

When loyalty was more than a phrase

And every loss hadn’t turned to haze

We wore wounds like badges of pride

Now we just bury them deep inside

I’d give it all, just one more time…

To be real again, before the climb

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🎵 [Outro – Whispered, fading guitar]

Back to the cracked streets, and busted shoes…

Back when love was pure, and we had nothing to lose…

Back when we… were real.