The man I used to be

[Verse 1]
I remember when my laugh came easy
When the mirror didn't feel so strange
Back when I still knew my reflection
Before everything began to change

Now I wear a smile like a costume
Paint it on before I walk outside
'Cause if anybody asks if I'm okay
I don't think I'd survive telling them why

[Pre-Chorus]
I'm getting tired of pretending
That I'm not hanging by a thread

[Chorus]
'Cause I don't feel like the man I used to be
Somewhere along the road I lost a piece of me
The confidence that carried me is just a memory
And every day I wonder where it went

So I fake another laugh, fake another smile
Fake another "I'm alright" for a little while
'Cause if I let these walls come down for everyone to see
I'd break apart right in the middle of the street

[Verse 2]
People see me standing, breathing
Think that means I'm doing fine
But they don't hear the conversations
That keep me awake most nights

I'm exhausted from performing
For a crowd that only sees the stage
While the real me sits in the shadows
Trying to recognize his own face

[Pre-Chorus]
And every day gets a little heavier
Carrying what I never say

[Chorus]
'Cause I don't feel like the man I used to be
Somewhere along the road I lost a piece of me
The confidence that carried me is just a memory
And every day I wonder where it went

So I fake another laugh, fake another smile
Fake another "I'm alright" for a little while
'Cause if I let these walls come down for everyone to see
I'd break apart right in the middle of the street

[Bridge]
I miss the fire that used to burn inside my chest
Miss believing I was enough without a second guess
Miss waking up and not feeling like I'm sinking underwater
Miss knowing who I am

Maybe he's still somewhere beneath the scars and pain
Buried underneath the wreckage of these days
Waiting for me to find him again

[Final Chorus]
'Cause I don't feel like the man I used to be
But maybe he ain't gone as far as he seems
Maybe he's just wounded, maybe he's just tired
Maybe he's still fighting underneath the debris

So I'll fake one less smile, tell one more truth
Take one small step toward the man I knew
And if these walls come down and all the hurt breaks free
Maybe that's exactly what healing needs from me

[Outro]
I don't need to be who I was yesterday
I just want to stop feeling like a stranger in my own name