I wrote this song about burnout, but not just the kind that comes from working too hard. ‎ Sometimes everything starts falling apart at once. A relationship ends, work drains whatever energy you have left, and even the people around you become another weight to carry. You keep showing up, giving everything, until you barely recognize yourself anymore. ‎ That's what deep water means to me. That feeling of sinking while life keeps moving around you. ‎ But there's a twist in the final chorus. I'm still in deep water, and I know it. I'm not pretending everything is suddenly fine. I've simply realized that what looks like falling apart might actually be the beginning of finding myself again. ‎ Sometimes you need a total reset. A new relationship, a different job, a chance to reconnect with people, and most importantly, with who you really are. ‎ Deep Water isn't about escaping burnout. It's about recognizing when the life you're trying so hard to hold together is no longer the life you want to live. ‎ I borrowed the line "I've become so numb, I can't feel you there" from Linkin Park, but here, the "you" refers to God. It's a reminder to myself that even when I can't feel His presence, He's still there, and what I see as overwhelming expectations may turn out to be blessings once I rise from these deep waters. ‎ [VERSE] Your shadow stayed beside the bed Long after all the words we said Two coffee cups, one gathering dust A house still standing, but not us ‎ [CHORUS] Deep water feels like my everyday I'm running through the dark to find out The walls fall down, nowhere left to stay In the maze of my mirror, I burn out ‎ [VERSE] The morning train swallowed my name A thousand faces, all the same I kept the wheels turning through the night While every spark in me lost its light ‎ [CHORUS] Deep water feels like my everyday I'm running through the dark to find out The walls fall down, nowhere left to stay In the maze of my mirror, I burn out ‎ [BRIDGE] Deep water feels like my everyday The walls fall down, nowhere left to stay I really need a total recall Even if it all just looks like a fall ‎ [CHORUS] Deep water feels like my everyday I've become so numb, I can't feel you there Deep water feels like my everyday I'm tired of being what you want me to be Deep water feels like my everyday It's just a space before I find out where Deep water feels like my everyday It's just discomfort before I'm who I'm meant to be Deep water feels like my everyday I'm running through the dark to find out The walls fall down, nowhere left to stay In the maze of my mirror, I burn outmore

This song was inspired by Vanessa, Wes's wife, who once devoted so much of her life to work that she barely let anyone in. She believed protecting her independence meant keeping others at a distance. ‎ Tony wrote it around a simple contradiction I've always found interesting. Sometimes our emotional needs go unmet, and learning to love ourselves is essential. But loving yourself doesn't mean closing yourself off from everyone else. ‎ Self-love is where happiness begins, but independence can feel strangely empty when there's no one to truly share your life with. ‎ There's a little nod to Miley Cyrus's Flowers and its celebration of being able to stand on your own. But here, I'm more interested in what comes afterward, when the happiness that independence once brought starts to feel increasingly fragile. ‎ And sometimes, the things we most want to tell someone are the very things we can only say inside our heads. ‎ [VERSE] I told you I was born to roam That I could love and still be free I always kept one foot outside Afraid of what you'd ask of me ‎ [CHORUS] No more second guessing No promises to keep No one to lose, no tears to weep I can take myself dancing ‎ [VERSE] You never asked me for my wings You never tried to close the door Now I can sleep on either side Of a bed that feels like yours ‎ [CHORUS] No more second guessing No promises to keep No one to lose, no tears to weep I can take myself dancing ‎ [VERSE] I can remember how I liked it when you never smiled It was in your eyes when I said I couldn't stay I mistook the space you gave me For a reason to walk away ‎ [PRE-CHORUS] I wasn't scared of losing freedom I was scared of needing you ‎ [CHORUS] No more second guessing No promises to keep No one to lose, no tears to weep I can take myself dancing ‎ [OUTRO] No more second guessing I still remember your cotton flowers No one to lose, no tears to weep We were good, we were gold No more second guessing And I threw it all away No one to lose, no tears to weep I wish I could've told you, but I just talk to myself ‎ [CHORUS] No more second guessing No promises to keep No one to lose, no tears to weep I can take myself dancingmore

There was a time when being in control became my way of doing things. I thought understanding someone meant knowing how to control them, too. ‎ I believed I knew the rules of love. I could read people's behavior, anticipate their reactions, and with enough experience, I was convinced I could hold anyone's heart in my hands. ‎ But eventually, I began to understand that knowing something and being in control of it are two very different things. Even knowing every rule means nothing when those rules don't apply. ‎ And that's exactly what happened with my empath. None of my rules worked, simply because I'd never met anyone like him before. I thought I recognized things I'd seen in other people, without realizing I had nothing to compare him to. ‎ I wanted my voice to reflect that realization. At first, it's bold, confident, almost commanding. But as the song unfolds, it moves closer to the mic, becoming more intimate and hesitant. The certainty is still there, but little by little, it starts sounding more like I'm trying to convince myself. ‎ Now I understand that I never really held his heart in my hands. I had simply mistaken his freedom to love me for my power to make him stay. ‎ [VERSE] I command the dance of the tides I know how to bend the winds my way One smile is enough to bring them back I've never needed chains to make them stay ‎ [CHORUS] I know just what to do My heart has seen a thing or two Love is my game And I'm in the Hall of Fame ‎ [VERSE] I know the dance of the tides I know how to read the winds that blow One smile should be enough to bring them back Sometimes you have to tighten the reins ‎ [CHORUS] I know just what to do My heart has seen a thing or two Love is my game And I'm in the Hall of Fame ‎ [VERSE] I know the dance of these tides I know these winds, I know what to do One smile is enough, it always has been I know how to hold their reins ‎ [PRE-CHORUS] I've never needed chains Just knowing who they belong to ‎ [CHORUS] I know just what to do My heart has seen a thing or two Love is my game And I'm in the Hall of Fame I know just what to do I think you're rolling in the deep I know just what to do I think I had your heart inside my hands I know just what to do My heart has seen a thing or two Love is my game And I'm in the Hall of Famemore