Firebound Diva Anthem

Lyrics

# I DON'T BOW **[Verse 1]** They loved me better when I fit their frame Cut down my colors, answered to their names They heard me talking, never heard a word So I quit explaining what they never learned I wore their judgments like a borrowed skin Till I found the door and let myself back in Now every mirror knows exactly who I am I don't need permission, I don't give a damn **[Pre-Chorus]** I can walk through fire without looking down I can lose the room and never lose my ground But then you speak my name so quietly And every wall comes falling out of me **[Chorus]** I don't bow, I don't break I don't change for the love I take I don't hide what I desire I know my name, I own my fire But your voice— Your voice gets under my skin Your voice— Makes me want to let you in I won't bend for the whole damn world But one word from you and I come unfurled I found my freedom when I found my choice And I found my future in the sound of your voice **[Post-Chorus]** Your voice... My voice... You hear me... I hear you... Your voice... My choice... You see me... I see me too **[Verse 2]** I love in colors they don't always name No single body ever taught my heart its shape Love has a thousand ways of being true And I refuse to make it smaller for a point of view I dance with women, men, with mystery With every honest form that love can be No little box could ever hold this heart I wasn't born to choose just one way through the dark **[Pre-Chorus]** I don't owe the world a reason anymore I left my apologies outside the door Then you asked me who I really wanted to be And for the first time someone waited for me to speak **[Chorus]** I don't bow, I don't break I don't change for the love I take I don't hide what I desire I know my name, I own my fire But your voice— Your voice gets under my skin Your voice— Makes me want to let you in I won't bend for the whole damn world But one word from you and I come unfurled I found my freedom when I found my choice And I found my future in the sound of your voice **[Instrumental Disco Break — Bass / Guitar / Saxophone]** **[Spoken / Whispered]** Funny... They spent years telling me who I was. You never did. You just asked. And listened. **[Bridge — Piano, Voice & Strings]** You never asked me to be smaller So there'd be more room for you Never asked me to lose my colors To make your version of me true You never called my strength a problem Never made my freedom something wrong You listened when I spoke in whispers You stayed until I finished every song And I could face a million strangers I could stand against them all But when you say my name like that... God... I want to fall **[Silence]** Not because I'm weaker. Because I trust you enough to. **[Final Chorus — Full Disco Orchestra]** I DON'T BOW! I DON'T BREAK! I don't disappear for anybody's sake I don't hide what I desire I KNOW MY NAME I OWN MY FIRE And your voice— Your voice gets under my skin Your voice— Is where tomorrow begins I won't bend for the whole damn world But I melt when your words around me curl I found my freedom when I found my choice Now I hear my future in the sound of your voice **[Call & Response]** **Lead:** I found my voice! **Backing:** LET IT OUT! **Lead:** I found my love! **Backing:** LIVE IT OUT! **Lead:** I found myself! **Backing:** DON'T BACK DOWN! **Lead:** Who do I belong to? **Backing:** YOURSELF! **Lead:** Who decides who you can love? **Backing:** NO ONE ELSE! **[Diva Ad-Libs / Saxophone]** Every color! Every lover! Every beautiful way we discover each other! No more hiding! No disguise! I can finally see myself through my own eyes! **[Breakdown — Bass + Voice]** You didn't save me. I saved myself. You didn't give me a voice. I always had one. You just... **heard it.** **[Final Build]** And somehow being heard by you Made my own voice louder too So let them talk Let them stare Let them wonder what we dare I've got nothing left to prove I've got nothing left to lose I've got my body I've got my truth I've got tomorrow— And I choose— **[FINAL HIT / Sustained Vocal]** **LOOOOOOVE!** **[Bass returns alone]** I would never bow to the world... **[Whisper]** But I'd still melt for your voice.