I'M NOT OKAY

VERSE 1

Everybody asks me how I’m doing

“I’m good” comes out before they look away

No one wants the answer that takes longer

They want a word that lets them leave okay

I’ve learned to laugh at all the right moments

Keep my voice steady, keep it light

The better I get at looking normal

The less they see I’m barely getting by

PRE-CHORUS

I say I’m fine because it ends the conversation

DO YOU WANT THE TRUTH OR JUST AN ANSWER YOU CAN HANDLE?

CHORUS

I’M NOT OKAY

I just got good at hiding it

You hear me say the words you wanted

Then act like that’s the end of it

I don’t need you to fix me

I just need you not to look away

So when you ask me how I’m doing

Let me say I’m not okay

VERSE 2

You tell me I can always talk to you

Then check the time when I begin

You say that I should let somebody help me

But helping means you have to sit with it

Maybe you don’t know what you should tell me

Maybe silence makes you feel afraid

I don’t need the perfect words to save me

I only need you not to turn away

PRE-CHORUS

I kept saying what was easy so you wouldn’t pull away

I WON’T SAY I’M FINE JUST TO MAKE YOU COMFORTABLE!

CHORUS

I’M NOT OKAY

I just got good at hiding it

You hear me say the words you wanted

Then act like that’s the end of it

I don’t need you to fix me

I just need you not to look away

So when you ask me how I’m doing

Let me say I’m not okay

GROWLED

I MADE IT EASY

TO MISS THE SIGNS

I GAVE YOU “I’M FINE”

EVERY SINGLE TIME

CLEAN

I don’t blame you for believing every answer that I gave

But I wish that once you’d looked at me and asked me twice

I don’t need a speech, a promise, or a way to make it right

I just need one place where I don’t have to lie

FINAL CHORUS

I’M NOT OKAY

And I am done with hiding it

Don’t ask me how I am today

If “fine” is all you want from me

I don’t need you to fix me

I just need you not to look away

So if you ask me how I’m doing

Stay when I say I’m not okay