Dead Air Applause

Verse 1

Paint my mouth into something alive

Practice laughing so I don’t have to cry

They said love saves, so I opened the gate

Now I hate myself for tempting fate

I wore hope like a borrowed coat

Too thin for the cold they threw at my throat

If this is healing, explain the bruise

Explain why loving felt like I lose

Pre-Chorus

I blame my hands for reaching out

I blame my heart for wanting now

Every time I trusted the lie

It carved another reason why

DROP

I’m finished with the pain, with the scars I have to hide

I’m finished with this hell of a roller coaster ride

Like an acrobat, I’m hanging by a string

Some nights I wonder what happens if it slips

I’m finished with the lies

I’m finished with the love that shrank my life

That made me hate myself for staying alive

I’m finished with this lifestyle

I’m finished begging to survive

Verse 2

Jester bells over a hollow chest

I joke the loudest when I’m the worst

Depression claps from the cheap seats

Counts my failures like encore beats

They cheer the fall, they love the trick

They never ask how close I slip

If I stop smiling, I ruin the show

So I keep going, even when I’m low

Pre-Chorus

I replay love like evidence

Convict myself for my innocence

If I got hurt, it must be me

That’s the lie that won’t let me be

DROP

I’m finished with the pain, with the scars I have to hide

I’m finished with this hell of a roller coaster ride

Like an acrobat, I’m hanging by a string

Some nights I wonder what happens if it slips

I’m finished with the lies

I’m finished with the love that shrank my life

That made me hate myself for staying alive

I’m finished with this lifestyle

I’m finished begging to survive

Bridge

I don’t want to die

I just want quiet

I want the lights to stop burning my eyes

I want to rest without earning it

If the tent went dark tonight

Would they miss the sound or the fight

Or just replace me with someone new

Another jester, same wound

(Final Chorus)

I’m finished with the pain, but I’m still breathing here

Still shaking on the line, still fighting fear

If I fall, I want it to be toward something real

Not this endless performance I feel

I’m finished with the lies

I’m finished letting love define my life

I’m still here, even if I hate that fight

Jester heart, cracked and tired

Still alive, still defiant

Outro

No laughter.

No applause.

Just me,

learning how to exist without the mask. but I’m still breathing here

Still shaking on the line, still fighting fear

If I fall, I want it to be toward something real

Not this endless performance I feel

I’m finished with the lies

I’m finished letting love define my life

I’m still here, even if I hate that fight

Jester heart, cracked and tired

Still alive, still defiant

Outro

No laughter.

No applause.

Just me,

learning how to exist without