Glass House

(Spoken intro, fast-paced, aggressive delivery) **(Intro)** Yo, check the mic, one-two, this ain't a fairy tale Fame's a cheap hotel with a rotten smell, a story stale They see the mansion, the shine, the cars, the private jets But they don't see the four walls closing in, the sleepless nights, the bets I placed on myself, now I'm paying off a debt To a mirror that keeps whispering what I ain't got yet. **(Verse 1)** Bare floorboards, the echo of applause is hollow Follow the dollar, and they swallow all your sorrow Paper thin smiles, cameras clickin' like a clock Tickin' down the seconds till they see your empire drop They want the breakdown, the meltdown, the fall from grace They want a front row seat to watch you lose the race So I pace, in this glass house, a prisoner of the view Every crack a headline, every whisper someone new Tellin' me I'm finished, tellin' me I'm through But I built this fortress with my bare hands, so who are you? To throw a stone when your own foundation's made of sand? Standin' in the spotlight, but you can't see the band Just a puppet on a string, followin' the command. **(Chorus - More melodic, but intense)** So who's gonna catch me when the walls start to fall? Who's gonna hear me when I scream, but they hear nothin' at all? In this glass house, I'm exposed, I'm naked, I'm seen But the one thing they can't capture is the monster in the machine It's a lonely fight, a sleepless night, a shattered dream. **(Verse 2)** Every interview, they dig for a scar They want the war wound, the story of a falling star But I'm still flickerin', glowin' through the grime Scribblin' apologies in the margins of time To the part of me that used to just write for the thrill Before the record deal, the ink-stained hands, the royal bill Now it's a battlefield, my mind is a gun Trigger finger itchin', for a battle to be won But the only enemy is the reflection in the sun Starin' back at me, tellin' me the damage is done And I'm runnin' on fumes, a rocket with no fuel A fool who thought the crown would make the pain feel cool But the weight is real, the crown is steel, it breaks the bone And the only throne I own is a microphone, alone. **(Chorus)** So who's gonna catch me when the walls start to fall? Who's gonna hear me when I scream, but they hear nothin' at all? In this glass house, I'm exposed, I'm naked, I'm seen But the one thing they can't capture is the monster in the machine It's a lonely fight, a sleepless night, a shattered dream. **(Bridge - Slower, almost whispered over a minimal beat)** And I've been searchin' for an exit in a room made of glass A past that I can't outrun, a future that won't pass They say the truth will set you free, but my truth is a chain Draggin' me through the wreckage of my own hurricane So let 'em watch. Let 'em wait. Let 'em steal my air. There's a storm inside this silence, and they can't touch it there. **(Outro - Building intensity, then a cold stop)** Yeah... From the bottom to the top, and back down again This ain't a story of a win, it's the story of a man Who built a home out of his fears, and calls it a plan (Beat stops) Check the mic... Glass house. Step careful.