[Verse 1]
When danger came knocking at your childhood door
Did you fight back or run across the floor
Maybe you froze like a statue made of stone
Or learned to please to survive on your own
[Chorus]
Fight, flight, freeze, or fawn
Which response did you put on
Four ways children learn to cope
Trading future dreams for hope
The patterns that we learned back then
Still echo in our hearts again
[Verse 2]
Now you build systems with incredible skill
Companies, frameworks that bend to your will
But deep down inside there's a voice that's unclear
Whispering softly that you won't be here
[Chorus]
Fight, flight, freeze, or fawn
Which response did you put on
Four ways children learn to cope
Trading future dreams for hope
The patterns that we learned back then
Still echo in our hearts again
[Bridge]
You read every room like a weather report
Scanning for storms before they distort
The hyperawareness that keeps you alert
Came from a time when watching didn't hurt
[Verse 3]
A child's job is playing, dreaming, growing free
Not monitoring adults' fragility
The skills that make you brilliant today
Came from a burden you carried away
[Chorus]
Fight, flight, freeze, or fawn
Which response did you put on
Four ways children learn to cope
Trading future dreams for hope
The patterns that we learned back then
Still echo in our hearts again
[Outro]
Now you're building tomorrow but can't quite believe
That the future is something you're meant to receive
The monitoring wasn't supposed to be yours
But it opened up unexpected doors