STILL STANDING

I know the road has been hard
But I'm not giving up
No, not this time

I will rise, I will shine
Even after all this time
You can take away my dreams
But you'll never take my light
I'm still here, I'm still alive
With a fire burning inside
And someday they'll see
What they couldn't see in me

I remember every moment, every word, every face
Every time they made me feel like I was taking up space
I was fighting through the struggle, they were laughing at my pain
While I tried to find the sunshine, they were dancing in the rain

People that I trusted had a knife behind their smile
Said they'd always have my back, disappeared after a while
They were quick to judge, quick to talk, quick to criticize
But they never saw the battles that were happening inside

I was down, I was lost, had to crawl before I ran
Had to build myself a future with whatever I had
Every door slammed shut, every dream they denied
Put another little reason in the fire burning inside

You can laugh, you can doubt, you can question my name
But you never had the power to determine my fate
I don't need your permission, I don't need your applause
I'm gonna prove what I can do without breaking my cause!

I will rise, I will shine
Even after all this time
You can take away my dreams
But you'll never take my light
I'm still here, I'm still alive
With a fire burning inside
And someday they'll see
What they couldn't see in me

Turn it up!

I got knocked down, got back up, now I'm coming in strong
Had a thousand different reasons just to prove them all wrong
They were talking like they knew me, like they knew my whole life
But they never saw the pressure, never witnessed the fight!

No shortcuts, no favors, no silver spoon
Just a heart full of fire and a dream coming soon
Every setback, every failure, every closed damn door
Made me hungry for the future, made me want it even more!

I ain't living for the people who were hoping I'd fall
I ain't wasting another minute trying to answer them all
Let them talk, let them laugh, let them say what they please
I'm too busy building something they could never believe!

I was born with determination, got a reason to fight
And I'm turning every dark day into something bright
You can keep your fake respect, keep your sympathy too
The only person I gotta prove something to is me!

I will rise, I will shine
Even after all this time
You can take away my dreams
But you'll never take my light
I'm still here, I'm still alive
With a fire burning inside
And someday they'll see
What they couldn't see in me

To everyone who walked away
To every word that made me break
I found a reason to believe
There's still a better life for me

And when I finally touch the sky
I'll know I never stopped the fight
You never saw what I could be
But now the light belongs to me

I will rise, I will shine
Even after all this time
You can take away my dreams
But you'll never take my light
I'm still here, I'm still alive
With a fire burning inside
And someday they'll see
What they couldn't see in me

Oh, I will rise
I will shine
You never took my light away
I'm still standing