A Difficult Life

[Verse 1]
They drew a little box around my name
Said, "Stay inside, you'll never feel the strain"
A steady chair, a borrowed point of view
A life that looked like theirs, but wasn't true

I tried the shape they handed me to wear
Smiled on cue and swallowed every prayer
The room was calm, the ceiling never moved
But something in my chest refused to lose

[Pre-Chorus]
If comfort is a door that locks behind me
If approval is a chain I cannot see
Then let the hard road ask its price
I would rather hurt awake than sleep politely

[Chorus]
I choose the road that carries my name
Even when it cuts, even when it takes
Give me the miles, give me the doubt
Give me a heart I don't have to hide now

Let the easy life pass me by
I won't trade my fire for a quiet lie
If I have to bend, I'll bend toward true
A difficult life is better than losing you

[Verse 2]
I left the map beside the kitchen sink
Took the first turn before I had time to think
The paycheck shrank, the nights grew long
But every little failure taught me where I belong

My family asked when I would settle down
I said, "I'm building something they can't count"
No polished proof, no promise in my hand
Just one small joy I finally understand

[Pre-Chorus]
I know the price of being hard to label
I know the table may not save my place
But I can meet the morning without pretending
And look my own reflection in the face

[Chorus]
I choose the road that carries my name
Even when it cuts, even when it takes
Give me the miles, give me the doubt
Give me a heart I don't have to hide now

Let the easy life pass me by
I won't trade my fire for a quiet lie
If I have to bend, I'll bend toward true
A difficult life is better than losing you

[Bridge]
Maybe happiness is not a softer bed
Maybe it's the honest words I leave unsaid
Maybe every bruise is evidence
That I stopped asking permission to exist

So if the whole world wants a smaller me
Let it want; I have somewhere else to be
I will build a door, I will turn the key
And choose the life that keeps choosing me

[Final Chorus]
I choose the road that carries my name
Even when it cuts, even when it takes
Give me the miles, give me the doubt
Give me a heart I don't have to hide now

Let the easy life pass me by
I won't trade my fire for a quiet lie
If I have to bend, I'll bend toward true
A difficult life is better than losing you

[Outro]
A difficult life, but the choice is mine
A difficult life, and I'm doing fine
No borrowed shape, no borrowed view
I found the life that feels like something true