I Am Who I Am (because of you)

**[Intro – lo-fi spoken, distant & muffled like answering machine]**  
Yeah…  
I know you hear me…  
Even when you pretend you don’t…  
(soft cassette deck click)

**[Verse 1]**  
Late night drive, windows cracked, your voice still hangin' in the back  
Tape deck spittin' Jodeci, but all I hear is you yellin' back at me  
You broke the good parts, left the jagged ones  
I duct-taped 'em up with bubblegum  
Now every scar got your signature  
Sharpie permanent, love & hurt mixed in the same signature

**[Pre-Chorus]**  
I coulda changed the station, coulda burned the tape  
Coulda told myself a thousand times it wasn't fate  
But every time I tried to rewrite the end  
Your ghost just hits record again

**[Chorus – big 90s R&B belts + sudden crunchy power chord stabs]**  
I am, who I am  
Because of youuuuuu  
(yeah yeah)  
Broken speaker heart still bangin' in the booth  
I am, who I am  
Because of youuuuuu  
Love me or hate me, the damage got my truth  
(whoa-oh-oh-oh)  
You made the mess, now I’m the monument  
To everything you ever did and never meant

**[Verse 2 – lo-fi half-sung, half-rapped, tape warble]**  
Spray paint your name on the inside of my ribs  
Every time my pulse jump, I still feel the nib  
You were the riff that never resolved  
The argument I lost but never dissolved  
I wear your fingerprints like cheap jewelry  
Faded gold-tone, still looks good on me

**[Pre-Chorus 2]**  
I coulda been softer, coulda been clean  
Coulda been the boy you saw in your dream  
But you took the soft parts, left me barbed wire skin  
Now I’m comfortable bleeding again

**[Chorus – even bigger this time, layered ad-libs]**  
I am, who I am  
Because of youuuuuu  
(yeah girl, you know it’s true)  
Distortion on my soul, still singin' in tune  
I am, who I am  
Because of youuuuuu  
(whoa-oh-oh)  
Love me or curse me, the credits roll with you  
You made the mess, now I’m the monument  
To everything you ever did and never meant

**[Bridge – strip it down to just tape hiss, soft keys, distant distorted guitar feedback]**  
Funny thing is…  
I don’t even hate you anymore  
I just look at the wreckage  
And finally recognize the shore  
(soft)  
You didn’t make me better  
You didn’t make me worse  
You just made me…  
…this version…  
…first

**[Final Chorus – full band crashes back in, punk-pop energy, R&B runs]**  
I am, who I am (who I am)  
Because of youuuuuu  
I am, who I am (say it loud)  
Because of youuuuuu  
Yeah the scars talk back when the lights go dim  
But they still spell your name when I sing 'em

**[Outro – lo-fi fade, voice getting further away]**  
So thanks, I guess…  
For the permanent marker  
And the broken speakers  
And the song that won’t end  
(soft click… tape stops… silence… then faint rewind noise)

*fade into crackling static*

90S R&B, Punk-Pop, Lo-Fi Tape Hiss, Vinyl Crackle & Slight Wow/Flutter, Raw Heartbreak, Distorted Guitar, Radio Vibes