# Useful [Intro – close mic, almost amused] Yeah... I used to think being needed was the same thing as being wanted. Convenient misunderstanding. [Verse 1] I liked being useful Gave me somewhere to stand Fix the problem, carry the weight Put something useful in my hands Call me when the shit goes wrong I’ll answer before it rings Funny how I felt most valuable When somebody needed things Give me your chaos Give me your mess Give me the job nobody else wants left I’ll stay awake I’ll make it work Just don’t make me sit there wondering what I’m worth Because if you need me You’ve got a reason to stay And somehow that felt safer Than asking if you wanted me anyway. [Pre-Chorus] I called it loyalty Called it love Never asked why being enough Was never fucking enough. [Chorus] Make me useful Give me purpose Put your broken shit in my hands Need me loudly Need me urgently Then I know exactly where I stand I can fix it I can carry it I can make myself impossible to lose But if you don’t need anything from me... Fuck. What am I to you? [Verse 2] I knew how to earn affection Knew how to make myself required Become the calm inside your crisis Then wonder why I’m always tired I’d give too much before you asked Then quietly count the cost Tell myself, “That’s just how I love” Then feel abandoned when it wasn’t returned That’s not generosity If there’s an invoice underneath That’s not giving freely If disappointment grows teeth I never said, “Now you owe me.” Didn’t have to. Some part of me already fucking knew. [Chorus] Make me useful Give me purpose Let me prove why I belong Need my hands Need my time Need the version of me that stays strong I’ll be steady I’ll be ready I’ll become whatever gets me through Because if I can make myself necessary... You never have to choose me. I already chose for you. [Verse 3 – stripped, darker] That’s the trick, isn’t it? Being needed removes the question. No waiting. No uncertainty. No standing there exposed. If the car’s broken — call me. If the night’s fucked — call me. If everyone else left — call me. I understand emergency. Emergency has rules. But sit beside me with nothing wrong... No problem to solve. No wound to bandage. No reason you *have* to stay. That shit terrified me. [Bridge – almost spoken] Maybe I didn’t chase broken people. Maybe I chased situations where my value couldn’t be questioned. Maybe fixing gave me control over something love never promised. Because love can say: “I want you.” And still leave. Need says: “I can’t do this without you.” That sounded safer. It wasn’t. It just sounded louder. [Beat cut] And fuck... I loved being loud enough to matter. [Verse 4 – building] So I became dependable Before I became honest Made myself indispensable Then called the exhaustion promise Wanted someone to see me While constantly hiding behind what I could do “How could you not know me?” Mate... When exactly did I show you? Not the fixer Not the father Not the shield Not the guy who knows the answer Me. Empty hands. Nothing to offer. No crisis. No performance. Just... Do you still want me here? [Final Chorus – massive] Don’t make me useful Just to prove it Don’t hand me damage so I know my place I can help you I can hold you Without disappearing in the weight I can give now Without buying Some guarantee you’ll never choose to leave I don’t need to be necessary To believe that I’m worth keeping If you need me I’ll still show up But I won’t build my worth Around what I can do And if there’s nothing broken tonight... Sit down. Stay anyway. Let me learn what that means too. [Outro – intimate] I still like being useful. Of course I fucking do. Just... Reference. Not preference. Being needed feels good. Being wanted feels vulnerable. Turns out... I’d rather learn the second one.
