Break Free

Michelle jakubowski wrote, produced and owns all rights to this song LYRICS [Verse 1 — intimate] Wake up tired, go to work Give away your time just to prove your worth Bills hit before that paycheck clears Do it again for forty damn years Everybody tells me, “That’s just life” Like saying it somehow makes it right But something deep inside of me Keeps screaming— this ain’t what life’s supposed to be [Pre-Chorus — build] You think I’m crazy ’cause I don’t want your dream Maybe I’m just seeing what you don’t wanna see Don’t tell me I’m wrong for questioning what I believe I’d rather lose the illusion Than lose me [Chorus — powerful, clear vocals] Slave to the clock, slave to the pay Living the same damn life every day Get in line, don’t question why Work your whole life just to get by Money’s only worth what we say it’s worth Time’s just numbers we put here on Earth You can spend your whole life being what they tell you to be Or open up your eyes… Step away… [pause] BREAK… FREE [Hold “free” with soft harmony.] [Verse 2 — deeper beat, rhythmic vocal] Government talks, everybody picks a side While power grows stronger every time we divide Promise us change, then we do it again New names, new faces, same game in the end Put a price on the land, put a price on your time Then tell you you’re failing if you fall behind I ain’t saying I know everything Hell, maybe nobody does But I’ll question every damn thing Before I call it truth just because somebody says it was [Pre-Chorus] You think I’m crazy for wanting something more You’re defending the cage I’m looking for the door [Chorus — fuller harmonies] Slave to the clock, slave to the pay Living the same damn life every day Get in line, don’t question why Work your whole life just to get by Money’s only worth what we say it’s worth Time’s just numbers we put here on Earth You can spend your whole life being what they tell you to be Or open up your eyes… Step away… BREAK… FREE [Verse 3 — strip to piano/acoustic] Somewhere along the way we forgot who we are Started measuring our lives by somebody else’s yard Scrolling through their pictures thinking, why ain’t that me? Never stopping long enough to ask, who am I meant to be? You weren’t born to be her You weren’t born to be him So why waste this little life Trying so damn hard to fit in? Take away the money The status and the fame When there ain’t nobody watching And nobody left to please— Who are you underneath it all? That’s who you need to meet. [Bridge — emotional, slowly building] I don’t want the mansion I don’t give a damn about fame I won’t spend my whole life Playing somebody else’s game Give me mornings without alarms Bare feet touching the ground People I love sitting next to me And enough damn peace to look around I don’t need more I just need real Real love Real peace A mind that belongs to me A life that actually feels like mine And a soul that finally feels free [Breakdown — music nearly stops, spoken] The clock doesn’t know who you are. Money doesn’t know what you’re worth. Society doesn’t get to decide your purpose. [pause] You do. [Final Chorus — full music, emotional but CLEAR] I won’t be a slave to somebody’s clock Won’t measure my worth by the things that I’ve got Won’t spend this one damn life trying to make them believe That I’m somebody I’m not just so they’ll accept me Keep your labels, your boxes, your version of me I’m done letting this world decide who I should be Life’s too damn short, and I’m finally starting to see— [music drops] The door was never locked I was holding the key Step away… Look inside… Remember who you came here to be… [pause] Find yourself… BREAK. FREE. [Hold “free” with beautiful layered harmony.] [Outro — soft piano] Breaking free isn’t escaping the world… It’s remembering who you were before the world told you who to be.