Lyrics
[Intro] (hallway light, still on) [Verse 1] Six boxes deep into the move, taping cardboard shut Found my old work badge wedged behind a mug Photo's got my face but not my posture Chin up, like nothing ever needed fixing Couldn't throw it out, couldn't hang it either Left it propped against the toaster, staring back Ate dinner standing at the sink that night The way he swore he'd never do [Pre-Chorus] Every box I empty Something climbs back out Every year I bury him He gets louder when I'm quiet now [Chorus] I'm the boy who slept with the hallway light on And the man who learned to turn it off Still sign my name the exact same way he taught me Just steadier now, less trying to prove something Two versions of me split the rent on silence (one already gone, one refuses to go) I'm the room I never leave And the door I finally close [Verse 2] I called my mother from a rest stop parking lot Told her I was fine, she said she heard it in my voice Drove eleven miles past the house with the crooked mailbox Told myself that wasn't really a choice Got the job, shook the hand, wore the good shirt Nobody there could see the kid still holding on Some nights that boy sits shotgun on the highway [adlib HUMMING] Humming songs that he never wrote [Pre-Chorus] Every box I empty Something climbs back out Every year I bury him He gets louder when I'm quiet now [Bridge] Maybe the kid was never lost Maybe I just stopped looking back He's not a ghost I need to bury He's the reason I know the way back I'm done choosing which one's the lie [Chorus] I'm the boy who slept with the hallway light on And the man who finally turned it off Still sign my name the exact same way he taught me Steadier now, done trying to prove something Two versions of me sharing the same key now (one taught me to leave, one taught me to hold) I'm the room I never leave I'm the room I never leave And the door I finally close [Outro] (hallway light, still on) Down the hall Down the hall