Let the Record Stand

[Verse 1]
I cleared every hurdle they placed in the lane
Put my name on the wall, took the heat and the blame
I brought home the proof in a box tied with red
Still they study my hands like the work isn't said

I learned every rule, then I bent every frame
Turned a closed little room into something with flame
When I step through the door, I can feel what they need
One more mountain, one more wound, one more deed

[Pre-Chorus]
I hear it in the pause when the room goes still
In the careful little smile that asks for more still
How many times must I rise from the floor
Before my yes becomes more than a score?

[Chorus]
I have done enough, let the record stand
I have built these bridges with my own two hands
If you need one more reason, take this heart and see
I am not a question waiting for your belief

I have done enough, I am here, I remain
Not a trial to endure, not a debt to explain
Let the old doubt gather where the old doubts belong
I was proving my life; now I’m proving them wrong

[Verse 2]
There are medals in drawers and receipts in a frame
A calendar crowded with proof of the strain
Every promise I kept left a mark in the grain
Yet the room looks past me for a newer campaign

I wore out my voice making silence behave
Put a light in the dark, put a tool in the grave
They can measure the miles, they can count what I’ve made
But they cannot decide what my name is worth paid

[Pre-Chorus]
I hear it in the breath before they say my name
Like the next locked door will make the last one plain
How many times must I open the gate
Before they stop calling arrival a wait?

[Chorus]
I have done enough, let the record stand
I have built these bridges with my own two hands
If you need one more reason, take this heart and see
I am not a question waiting for your belief

I have done enough, I am here, I remain
Not a trial to endure, not a debt to explain
Let the old doubt gather where the old doubts belong
I was proving my life; now I’m proving them wrong

[Bridge]
Keep your ledger, keep your careful inspection
Keep the raised eyebrow dressed as protection
I know every failure that carried me through
I know every hard-won thing I had to undo

No, I won’t make a shrine of the things I survived
No, I won’t beg a room to admit I’m alive
There is nothing left here that I owe to their eyes
I can stand in the open and answer: I’m mine

[Final Chorus]
I have done enough, let the record stand
I have built these bridges with my own two hands
If you need one more reason, take this heart and see
I am not a question waiting for your belief

I have done enough, I am here, I remain
Not a trial to endure, not a debt to explain
Let the old doubt gather where the old doubts belong
I was proving my life; now I’m proving them wrong

[Outro]
Let the record stand
Let the whole room know
I was never unfinished
I was learning to let go