Can’t Love Like This Again [2000s Nu-Metal]

[Intro] Yeah… I’ve been hiding in the static… Waiting on a signal I can trust… In the dark, in the dark… (guitar motif repeats, softly layered ambience swelling underneath) ⸻ [Pre-Verse 1] Stuck behind the silence I created Every word I never said Echoes louder in my head Feels like I’ve been mis-educated ⸻ [Verse 1] I keep my distance like it’s safety But it’s suffocating slowly Every door I almost open Slams shut before it knows me I got faces I should call back But I’m numb to every ring tone Learned to carry all this weight alone Like it’s carved into my bones ⸻ [Pre-Chorus 1] And I can feel it crawling under my skin All the things I buried won’t stay hidden If I let it out, will it break me down? Or finally pull me from this ground? ⸻ [Chorus 1] I can’t love like this again Not the way it’s been I keep it locked inside my chest Where it’s safe, where it won’t bend Every scar that I defend Every truth I never send I can’t love like this again But it’s the only strength I’ve got left ⸻ [Pre-Verse 2] Every memory’s a double edge Cuts me when I look too close I’ve been talking to the shadows They’re the only ones that know ⸻ [Verse 2] I was raised on broken signals Static voices, half-remembered Trying to piece together meaning From a past I disassembled Now I walk through empty corridors Hearing footsteps that aren’t there Like a ghost inside my own life But I pretend I don’t care ⸻ [Pre-Chorus 2] If I break, will anyone notice? If I fade, will it even matter? All the pieces that I’ve scattered Don’t fit back together ⸻ [Chorus 2] I can’t love like this again Not the way it’s been I keep it locked inside my chest Where it’s safe, where it won’t bend Every scar that I defend Every truth I never send I can’t love like this again But it’s the only strength I’ve got left ⸻ [Pre-Verse 3] There’s a version of me buried Under layers I won’t show Every time I try to reach him I don’t recognize the ghost ⸻ [Verse 3] I’ve been running from the mirror But the reflection never lies Every fracture, every fracture Shows the war behind my eyes I don’t need another reason To keep shutting out the light I just need a way to breathe again Without losing the fight ⸻ [Pre-Chorus 3] If I step into the open Will I finally feel the air? Or collapse beneath the weight Of everything I’ve been scared to share? ⸻ [Chorus 3] I can’t love like this again Not the way it’s been I keep it locked inside my chest Where it’s safe, where it won’t bend Every scar that I defend Every truth I never send I can’t love like this again But it’s the only strength I’ve got left ⸻ [Bridge] (soft) In the silence I can hear myself For the first time in a while No disguises, no denial Just a broken sense of self (lift begins) If I let it all come crashing down Would I finally feel alive? Or just pieces on the ground That I’ve been trying to hide… ⸻ [Guitar Solo] ⸻ [Final Chorus] I can’t love like this again Not the way it’s been I’m unlocking what I kept From the fear that lived within Every scar I now defend Every truth I now will send I won’t love like this again Not the same way… in the end ⸻ [Outro] Yeah… Out of the dark… Step by step… I’m learning how to breathe again… (guitar motif returns softly, echoing and fading into reverb)