The Enemy Was Me

Lyrics

[Intro]
Cold piano in the dark, my breath clouds the mirror’s face.
A single violin thread cuts a line through the hush.
I don’t blink. I wait for the judge I built to speak my name.

[Verse 1]
I kept my shoulders small, learned to pass like smoke,
counted every fault like beads, let the room stay cold.
I pressed my forehead to the glass until it bit,
called it fate, called it weight, called it “this is it.”
On the sill, rust from years I never left,
my knuckles white as winter, holding back my breath.
I forged links out of whispers on an anvil of doubt,
and wore them till I forgot I could cry out.

[Pre-Chorus]
Then under my ribs, a low drum answers the wind.
The floor remembers my feet; it’s been waiting to begin.
I see the warden’s eyes in the slick of the pane,
and the violin lifts like a spark in the rain.

[Chorus]
Mirror, be my witness—tonight I won’t look away.
If the jailer is the gaze that never let me stray,
let the iron sing; I’ll taste the metal and my name.
I turn the hidden key my fingers shaped from blame.
Glass starts to tremble, a frostline cracks and frees—
I stand in that reflection, and I finally breathe.

[Drop]
The enemy was me, and I set myself free.
The enemy was me, and I set myself free.
[Instrumental Break: Solo violin carves a fierce, ancient melody over growling bass and halftime war drums.]

[Verse 2]
All those nights I measured shadows, salted open skin
with silence; taught the mirror how to starve me thin.
I locked the cage and nodded, told myself “be still,”
hid the map inside my mouth, bit down until
there was iron on my tongue and thunder in my chest,
but I named it weather, kept my truth undressed.
Now the frost is breaking where my breath has warmed the frame—
I’m not a ghost; I’m blood and bone that kept its flame.

[Pre-Chorus 2]
War drums gather slow, like a storm that chose my side.
My shoulders square to the glass I used to hide.
I lift my chin; the judge inside me drops his gavel’s weight.
I meet his stare, and I refuse to wait.

[Chorus 2]
Mirror, be my witness—tonight I won’t look away.
If the jailer is the gaze that never let me stray,
let the iron sing; I’ll taste the metal and my name.
I turn the hidden key my fingers shaped from blame.
Glass starts to tremble, a frostline cracks and frees—
I stand in that reflection, and I finally breathe.

[Drop 2]
The enemy was me, and I set myself free.
Not the world, not the night—no, the enemy was me,
and I set myself free.
[Instrumental Break: Fiddle screams a battle-hymn over snarling bass; guitars and taiko hit like waves.]

[Bridge]
Strip the noise away—just bow on string, and me.
In my open hands, no chains, just lines where they used to be.
The mirror fogs with living breath; I speak my name and wait.
A softer truth looks back at me and lets me cross the gate.

[Chant Break]
(low male chants, stomps and taiko)
Hey—ho. Hey—ho. Stand—breathe. Stand—breathe.
Hey—ho. Hey—ho. Open hands. Leave the sheath.
Lead: I am not my shadow.
Chants: Hey—ho. Stand—breathe.

[Final Chorus]
Mirror, be my witness—I will not look away.
I faced the judge and jailer in the glass today.
I broke the verdict’s hold, walked barefoot through the seam,
let the iron fall like rain and washed me clean.
Hear the violin—my blood, my vow, my plea:
the enemy was me, and I set myself free.
With the war-chant at my back, I rise and claim my name—
the enemy was me, and I set myself free.

[Outro]
Quiet room, warm breath, a last low note of string.
The mirror turns to water; I leave with open hands, breathing.