Smile That Doesn’t Meet The Eyes

Verse 1

He’s twenty-four with a laugh so loud

You’d never guess the quiet’s all around

He cracks the jokes, he keeps the pace

Wears his grin like it was made of lace

Every morning he polishes the mask

Checks the mirror – is the act too raw?

Says “I’m good” before you even ask

While his chest feels like an open door

Pre-Chorus

It takes all he’s got just to stand up straight

To answer texts, to show up late

No one sees how the ground gives way

Beneath the steps he takes every day

Chorus

It’s just a smile that doesn’t reach the eyes

A story he rewrites a thousand times

He’s holding back the flood behind the gate

Scared if he speaks it all will break

Wants to curl up, fade into the grey

Vanish softly, melt away

But he keeps on playing the part

With a heavy, quiet heart

Verse 2

Late at night when the house is still

The walls get loud and the shadows spill

He sits and stares at the ceiling blank

Wonders how much more he can thank

Anxiety’s a voice that won’t let go

Depression’s coat he can’t take off

He’s learned exactly what they want to know

And all the rest he locks inside the lock

Pre-Chorus

It takes all he’s got just to breathe right in

To let no trace of the darkness win

No one sees how the light grows dim

When he’s only barely holding on

Chorus

It’s just a smile that doesn’t reach the eyes

A story he rewrites a thousand times

He’s holding back the flood behind the gate

Scared if he speaks it all will break

Wants to curl up, fade into the grey

Vanish softly, melt away

But he keeps on playing the part

With a heavy, quiet heart

Bridge

He thinks “they’ve got their own fights to fight”

“Don’t drag them down with this heavy night”

So he carries it all on his own

Every stone, every bruise, every bone

Some days he feels he’s already gone

Just walking round in someone else’s form

Waiting for the courage to say

“I’m not okay, not okay today”

Outro

The sun comes up, he puts the mask on tight

“Everything’s great, yeah everything’s alright”

Just a smile that doesn’t reach the eyes

Just a boy surviving one more night...