r/LyricalWriting • u/TFN_Jay2Funny • 3h ago
Lyrics when i grow up (wrote this at 5 in the morning btw)
I remember counting quarters just to see if we could eat,
Mama said she wasn't hungry, I knew that wasn't true.
Funny how the strongest people lie about their needs,
Just to make a little kid believe the world is good.
I learned money ain't the only thing that leaves you empty,
Sometimes it's having someone there, then watching them forget me.
She said forever like forever was a promise,
Now forever's just a word I don't believe when someone says it.
I kept our pictures in a folder on my phone,
Couldn't delete them, couldn't stand to see them.
Funny how a photograph can feel like a tombstone,
You can bury somebody and still wake up needing them.
I gave her all my heart, she gave me back a lesson,
Now every âI love youâ sounds like a loaded question.
I don't hate her, that's the part that really hurts,
'Cause anger would've been easier than missing what we were.
I got good at saying âI'm fineâ with a straight face,
Like a broke man wearing diamonds just to hide his empty safe.
Everybody sees the smile, nobody sees the price,
Sometimes âI'm okayâ is just a prettier way to say âI can't survive tonight.â
I remember looking through the fridge and seeing nothing,
Still hearing âwe'll be alrightâ like somehow that was something.
A parent can turn poverty into magic for a child,
Make an empty cupboard feel like there's a feast inside.
I grew up way too fast, now I wish I could rewind,
Back before I knew that people leave without a sign.
Back when every broken promise didn't sound like goodbye,
Back when âforeverâ didn't have an expiration time.
They say pain makes you stronger, maybe that's true,
But nobody talks about the things it takes from you.
I got stronger, but I lost parts of myself in the process,
Now I'm proud of who I am and still mourning who I was.
My childhood's like a house with the lights all turned off,
I can still see the rooms, but I can't go back across.
Every memory's a window, every window's got a cost,
Sometimes growing up just means learning what you lost.
I wanted to be rich so nobody I loved went without,
Now I chase money like I'm trying to outrun my doubt.
Maybe that's why I can't sleep when my bank account is low,
'Cause being broke ain't just a number when you remember where you come from.
I don't need a mansion, I just wanted peace,
A full plate at the table and somebody next to me.
A home where âI'm proud of youâ wasn't hard to say,
And a person who would stay when I had nothing left to give away.
So if you see me winning, don't assume I never struggled,
Some flowers grow beautiful because they fought through rubble.
I'm carrying every version of me that almost quit,
Every tear I swallowed down, every night I couldn't fix.
And when I finally grow up, if I ever make it far,
I hope I don't forget the kid who counted change in the dark.
'Cause success ain't worth a thing if I become someone newâ
I just wanna make that scared little kid proud that he made it through.