Dont Let Me Fade

[VERSE 1] I’ve been stitching up the shadows that I drag behind my spine, But the fault‑lines in my ribcage keep collapsing over time. Every promise that I whisper turns to shrapnel in my throat, ’Cause the man I try to be is always fighting what I wrote In the margins of my memory—those war‑torn annotations, Where the past still pulls the strings with violent inclinations. You touch my face so softly, but it cracks the porcelain, ’Cause love was never gentle in the places I have been. [PRE‑CHORUS] I’m trying to be better, but the dark rewrites my skin, And every time I slip, I fear you’ll never let me in. I’m terrified the day will come you finally see the truth— That the monster I’ve been fighting is the one you call a “wound.” [CHORUS] I’m holding on with blood‑slicked hands, I’m slipping from your light, I’ll watch me fall and won’t stay for the fight. I’m drowning in the man I am, the one I couldn’t kill, But I swear to you I’m clawing up this ever‑breaking hill. If I lose you, I lose everything—my heart, my breath, my name. I’m trying, love, I’m trying, but I burn inside the flame. [VERSE 2] I’ve been waging quiet wars against the ghosts beneath my ribs, But they ambush when I’m fragile, when I’m barely holding grip. You see the tremor in my jaw before the storm begins, You brace yourself for impact from the violence in my sins. I hate the way I hurt you when I never mean to strike, It’s the reflex of a soldier who’s been fighting all his life. You deserve a man who isn’t haunted by the past, But I’m welded to my trauma like a shadow that won’t cast. [PRE‑CHORUS] I’m trying to be better, but the darkness has a key, It slips inside my chest and rearranges what I see. I’m terrified you’ll wake one day and finally understand That the man you think you love is just a fractured, shaking man. [CHORUS] I’m holding on with blood‑slicked hands, I’m slipping from your light, I’m terrified you’ll watch me fall and won’t stay for the fight. I’m drowning in the man I am, the one I couldn’t kill, But I swear to you I’m clawing up this ever‑breaking hill. If I lose you, I lose everything—my heart, my breath, my name. I’m trying, love, I’m trying, but I burn inside the flame. [BRIDGE] I’m sorry for the nights I break, For every fear I can’t unmake, For every time the past still shakes The walls you try to hold. I’M NOT YOUR ENEMY— I’M JUST A MAN WHO BLEEDS TOO LOUDLY. I’M NOT THE MONSTER— JUST THE SCARS THAT STILL SURROUND ME. If I lose you now, I lose the only light I’ve known, I’m fighting every demon just to stand here on my own. [FINAL CHORUS] I’m holding on with blood‑slicked hands, I’m slipping from your light, But I will tear the darkness down if you stay through the night. I’m drowning in the man I am, but I won’t let him win, I’ll break apart the trauma just to build myself again. If I lose you, I lose everything—my future, hope, and flame. I’m trying, love, I’m trying— please don’t let me fade away. [OUTRO — CLEAN, SHAKEN, RAW] I’m not perfect… But I’m fighting… For you… For us… For the man I swear I’ll be.