Nothing holy about the easy way.

[Intro] (nu-metal, downtuned chug, industrial drums, half-spoken male vocal) I kept score with a broken pen Called every bruise a dead end Life don’t knock, it kicks the door Then asks what the hell you came here for Get up Learn it Or stay on the floor [Verse 1] (intimate close male vocal, breathy R&B croon, piano and pads) I used to treat the fall like a verdict Like the dark had my name on a list Every night I rehearsed the ending Every morning I clenched my fist Then the quiet taught me a sentence I didn’t want, but I needed it said If it hurts and you still keep walking That’s the lesson wearing your name instead [Pre-Chorus] (building, light drums, rising vocal) Nothing holy about the easy way Nothing cheap about the change If you want the better blood in you You don’t get to skip the pain [Chorus] (heavy drop, downtuned riffs, soaring male vocal + stacked harmonies) Every setback’s a teacher with dirt on its hands Every loss is a map if you learn where you land Best version don’t arrive, you build it in sweat You become what you carry, not what you forget I won’t pray for a softer life I’ll pray I can take the weight Make me better Make me stay [Verse 2] (quiet again, intimate, falsetto on last lines) I kissed my pride on the way down Left it there like a coat I outgrew Some nights I still hear it calling “You could stop, no one would blame you” But the man I’m trying to bury Keeps offering me the old excuse So I look that voice in the mouth And I tell it the work is the proof [Pre-Chorus] Nothing holy about the easy way Nothing cheap about the change If you want the better blood in you You don’t get to skip the pain [Chorus] (heavier drop) Every setback’s a teacher with dirt on its hands Every loss is a map if you learn where you land Best version don’t arrive, you build it in sweat You become what you carry, not what you forget I won’t pray for a softer life I’ll pray I can take the weight Make me better Make me stay [Bridge] (stripped piano, raw male vocal, then swell) I don’t want the gold if it didn’t cost me I don’t want the crown if I didn’t crawl If the lesson comes dressed as a wrecking Let it tear what was never me at all Don’t save me from the fire Just don’t let me waste the burn [Final Chorus] (biggest drop, choir layers) Every setback’s a teacher with dirt on its hands Every loss is a map if you learn where you land Best version don’t arrive, you build it in sweat You become what you carry, not what you forget I won’t pray for a softer life I’ll pray I can take the weight Make me better Make me stay Yeah… make me stay [Outro] (piano only, intimate male vocal, fade) If it breaks you open That’s a door, not a grave Learn it honest Then get up And become what the work made