Under Skin

You see the surface, calm and barely scratched You think I'm easy, think I'm overmatched You count my failures like they're trophies on your shelf But you've never met the man I keep inside myself There's something burning in the basement of my chest It doesn't show — but it will never rest So go ahead and write me off I've heard it all, I've heard enough The quiet ones are always keeping score And I'm about to roar There's a fire under skin you've never seen A pressure building underneath the clean I've been the fuse, I've been the patient spark Now I'm the light that's chasing out the dark There's a fire under skin you've never known I've been the ember sleeping all alone But embers catch when given half a chance And now the whole damn world is gonna dance I learned to smile when everything was wrong I turned my silence into armor, thick and strong But armor's heavy and it rusts from inside out And all the things I never let myself shout Are turning into fuel I can't contain A beautiful and necessary pain You wanted meek, you wanted mild and tame But you awakened what you cannot name There's a fire under skin you've never seen A pressure building underneath the clean I've been the fuse, I've been the patient spark Now I'm the light that's chasing out the dark There's a fire under skin you've never known I've been the ember sleeping all alone But embers catch when given half a chance And now the whole damn world is gonna dance I'm not your victim, not your quiet friend I'm the beginning, not the bitter end I'm the fever that you can't sweat out I'm the whisper turning to a shout There's a fire under skin Under skin Under skin And it begins