u/NixMix246

Hi! My lyrics often tend to be quite literal, or "on the nose" so to speak. I get a lot of feedback regarding this. While I do believe it is a valid stylistic choice, and not something I personally mind as a listener, I do want to improve my ability to "show, don't tell" (a concept I was not even aware of until I joined reddit, so thank you kind souls for helping me add valuable tools to my crayon box!)

I just finished this rough draft yesterday, but some of the lines have been simmering for while and have been heavily revised since I challenged myself to infuse more imagery into my songs. For example, the original opening line was "I come from a broken home, almost let it break my soul. My mom was crazy, my dad never met me, and I don't blame him, I don't blame him" (using the word "crazy" didn't sit right with me, so I got to slice 2 cakes with one knife here by infusing more imagery into my lyrics and also making sure my art aligns with my moral compass) "Murals on my face" was originally "bruises on my face" then "colors on my face". I think I like Murals? Not sure. That line needs a bit of reworking regardless due to syllable count.​

"Home Front" by Nixi Rae

Verse 1

I remember being 12 years old

Eggshells scrambling my soul

My mom heard voices

My dad never met me

And I don't blame him

But I had no one

Chorus

When I'd hear PTSD, I'd think that couldn't be me

that's the army

But I was a solider on the home

front Fighting battles

noone ever saw me

Yea I've got, I've got all this trauma

Still not sure where I where I belong

*Still working on the chorus, might flip the "PTSD" section and the "Trauma" section*

Verse 2

I remember being 6 years old

Life had lost all of its color

Kids on the playground

I'd hear them laughing

And I'd wonder why

I felt grey inside

Chorus

When I'd hear PTSD, I'd think that couldn't be me

that's the army

But I had memories stolen from me

I can never ever have em

Cause I missed out on all of my class photos

Murals on my face I couldn't showww

Verse 3

I remember being 5 years old

Watching flames dance on the stove

My cat had just died

Didn't quite know why

Just wanted to hold her

As I watched her burn

Chorus

When I'd hear PTSD, I'd think that couldn't be me

that's the army

But I was a solider on the home front

Fighting battles no one ever saw me

Now I've got I've got all this trauma

Still not sure where I where I belong

Verse 4

I remember being 3 years old

Feeling so scared and alone

yea I remember

Fell outta my highchair

I cried for comfort

She called me a jerk

Bridge

And only one person ever stood up for me

She lived above our place At Evergreen

When I'd hear PTSD I'd think that couldn't be me that's the army

But My mama coached me on what to say

And I didn't know any better

I was a soldier on the home front

Final Chorus

When I hear PTSD I know it applies to me

and I'm healing

Yes I am a solider on the home front

Writing ballads

Time to share my story

Yea I've got I've got all this trauma

But all my scars my scars are lined with silver

And I know now I deserved much better

Hi! This is a song I'm working on about unseen battles raging deep within, mustering up the courage to fight, finding strength in vulnerability, and coming out the other side with a deep appreciation for life. I've always felt called to help others who've been through similar things I have. What better way than through the very thing that helped me through some of my darkest days: music! I've always felt drawn to the singer/songwriter life, and I finally dove in headfirst a few years ago. It's been quite the adventure! I've only written a handful of songs, but this is one of my favorites so far. I don't really like to genreize my music, because I don't feel it really fits a genre at this point since it's just me and my keyboard. If you had to choose which genre to produce this song in, what would you choose? Thanks for listening! And if you relate to this song at all, I am SO PROUD OF YOU.