You Don’t Have To Listen

[Verse 1]
Mom and dad
It’s me again
Talking to a closed door
Same old thing
You nod your heads
But your eyes move on
Guess you never made it to the last song

[Pre-Chorus]
And I rewind your words at night
Play them back
See if they rhyme
But I’m tired of chasing your applause
Tired of pausing every thought

[Chorus]
Mom and dad
You don’t have to listen
I’m still gonna write some more
Fill up every folded page in my kitchen
Stack them by my bedroom door
You can miss every line
Every verse I rehearse
I’ll still turn my hurt into chords
Mom and dad
You don’t have to listen
I’m still gonna write some more

[Verse 2]
You ask
“So how’s that little hobby?”
While I’m bleeding my truth on a cheap copy sheet
You change the subject when I hit play
So I sing to the ceiling instead of your names

[Pre-Chorus]
I used to beg you
“Stay right there”
Now I just breathe and pull up a chair
For the kid in me who waited on your claps
I’ll be the echo that they never had

[Chorus]

[Bridge]
One day you might find a notebook in a box
Ink stains
Coffee rings
All the nights I felt lost
If you read just one page and finally see my voice
Know I didn’t write it for you
I wrote it because I had no choice

[Chorus]