Dots In The Rearview

[Verse 1]
I kept a notebook full of scraps
One-word scars and coffee stains
Tiny dots across the margin
Things I swore I’d not explain
I packed a bag before the sunrise
I left the page
I left the town
Thought if I stayed ahead of answers
Questions couldn’t drag me down

[Pre-Chorus]
But every mile drew a circle
Every shadow spelled my name
You can outrun any failure
Till you see you’re still the same (yeah)

[Chorus]
I was breaking my life down into dots
Trying to outrun every thought
Wouldn’t draw the line
I was scared of the design
So I folded every chance I got
Then I traced every mark that I had made
All the hurt
Every slip
Every fade
Once I linked it all
Like a map on the wall
I went straight to the top of my game

[Verse 2]
I saw the patterns in the late fees
Missed calls
Birthdays that I skipped
Each excuse a little island
Each apology half-written
Half-ripped
Every “later” was a landmark
Every “maybe” was a sign
Didn’t know that all my detours
Marked the borders of a spine

[Pre-Chorus]
I put a ruler to the ruins
Let the angles say their piece
All the random
All the ruined
Turned to lines that pointed east (oh)

[Chorus]
I was breaking my life down into dots
Trying to outrun every thought
Wouldn’t draw the line
I was scared of the design
So I folded every chance I got
Then I traced every mark that I had made
All the hurt
Every slip
Every fade
Once I linked it all
Like a map on the wall
I went straight to the top of my game

[Bridge]
Every dot a long night driving
Every dot a promise broken
Every dot a late decision
Every word I left unspoken
When I pulled them into focus
Saw an arrow through the pain
Not a prison
But a pathway
Pointing right back to my name (yeah)

[Chorus]
I was breaking my life down into dots
Trying to outrun every thought
Now I draw the line
I’m in love with the design
I don’t fold when the pressure gets hot
‘Cause I traced every mark that I had made
Turned the shame into fuel
Into flame
Once I linked it all
Like a map on the wall
I went straight to the top of my game
Yeah
I shot like a spark through the rain
Now I’m right at the top of my game (my game)