You Don't Have to Run Tonight

Lyrics

[Verse 1] Six years old, counting floorboards Learning which doors to leave alone Ten years old, carrying silence Like a coat that wasn’t hers to own Hands that should have held her steady Turned the house into a place to hide How could you look at just a child And leave her standing there inside? [Pre-Chorus] She learned to read the room before she learned to read She made herself smaller just to breathe [Chorus] What did she do? Why did they make her pay? Why did every cruel hand Tell her she was in the way? Little one, come closer You don’t have to run tonight It wasn’t your fault And I won’t let them hurt you now We’ll get through this together I’ll stay beside you through the fight [Verse 2] Eleven years, feeding a baby While the grown-ups looked away “Take care of your own kid” As if childhood could be thrown away She packed lunches, swallowed questions Kept the peace with shaking hands No one asked who was protecting The girl who had to understand [Pre-Chorus] She became a doorway for everybody’s needs While nobody stopped to see her bleed [Chorus] What did she do? Why did they make her pay? Why did every cruel hand Tell her she was in the way? Little one, come closer You don’t have to run tonight It wasn’t your fault And I won’t let them hurt you now We’ll get through this together I’ll stay beside you through the fight [Verse 3] Young and hungry for a kindness She mistook a locked door for a home One took her body, one took her money One made her feel alone They left their bruises in her choices Their apologies turned cold She kept asking what was wrong with her While they took what they were owed [Bridge] Nothing you wore invited this Nothing you said made it right Nothing you gave could earn their mercy Nothing made their damage yours to hide I see the child beneath the panic I see the years you couldn’t name You are not the things they did to you You are still here, and that is brave [Final Chorus] What did she do? She survived another day When they handed her their hatred She still found a way to stay Little one, come closer Put your hand inside of mine It wasn’t your fault You were never hard to love We’ll get through this together Step by step, one breath at a time I won’t let them hurt you again You’re safe with me tonight [Outro] Six years old, still inside me No more waiting by the door I am here, and I am listening You don’t have to face it anymore