[Verse 1]
Late-night buzz — missed call at twelve, two ticks, no blue
Lipstick stain on your collar, a receipt with her name and a clue
You smiled like honey, but your teeth were knives
Whispered names in backseat drives, hidden lives
Snap — I caught the thread, the seams gave way
Short breaths, cold chest, but I don't beg — I don't stay
(Ad-lib: Ha!)
[Pre-Chorus]
You carved my trust — I carve your name from me
Percussive truth — snap, cut — I set it free
I feel the heat, the anger's clean and raw
You went looking for thunder, now get the storm you saw
[Chorus]
You burned me — you burned me (You Burned Me)
You burned me — watch me rise from your greed
You burned me — you burned me (You Burned Me)
I'll watch you choke on every lie you feed — you burned me
(Surprising final line: Keep your smoke, I'm pyre-bred)
[Verse 2]
Hotel key, late-night text, whisper at dawn
Your cheap perfume, her laugh replayed on my phone
A name on a napkin, lipstick on a sleeve
I traced the map of your lies — now I believe
Staccato heartbeats like a djembe in my chest
Talking drum, root rhythm — I will not be less
Short lines — hard hits, I spit like a snapped string
You thought you owned the chorus, I bring the sting
(Ad-lib: Uh!)
[Pre-Chorus]
Cold proof in the drawer — photos, hidden cash
You broke the pact, you threw our vows like trash
My voice is steel — I stamp your memory out
You fed on fire, now you're the one in doubt
[Chorus]
You burned me — you burned me (You Burned Me)
You burned me — watch me rise from your greed
You burned me — you burned me (You Burned Me)
I'll watch you choke on every lie you feed — you burned me
(Surprising final line: Taste your ash, taste your defeat)
[Bridge — Spoken / Call-and-Response]
(Spoken, tight, percussive)
Listen — you thought my quiet meant surrender. No.
You thought your whispers were shadows. I am the sun.
Call: Nimechoka na wewe — (Response:) I am done with you.
Call: Sisi tunalia? — (Response:) No, we rise.
(Ad-lib riff over rising strings)
You carved my name in anger — I carve freedom in flame
I will sing in the rubble — I will dance in your blame
[Breakdown — Vocal Riff / Ad-libs]
Ah — ah — ah! (tight brass stab)
Mm — mm — mm! (vocal riff, long note)
You burned me — (you burned me) — ha! — watch me
[Final Chorus — Big, Aggressive]
You burned me — you burned me (You Burned Me)
You burned me — I feed this fury, plant my seed
You burned me — you burned me (You Burned Me)
I light the truth and walk away — you’ll drown in what you bleed — you burned me
(Surprising final line: I am the fire — you are the ash)
[Outro — Fierce, Short]
Fierce drum, djembe snap — I am not your wound
I am the sun that rose from ruins, loud, immune
You burned me — but I became the blaze
(Ad-lib: Ha! Nimechoka na wewe — I'm free.)
