We light the candles, sing the song Another year, another right to feel strong But every wish we blow away Is a piece of youth we let decay We drink to the future every New Year's Eve Like we're not scared of what we'll leave But the mirror don't lie, and neither do scars We celebrate stars, not how close they are We chase versions of who we could be But forget the best of who we were We wear change like a crown on fire Never asking if it hurts We count the candles, not the days We praise the growth, not the graves We want the new like it's a prize But lose the spark we had inside Every year we say: This time I'll shine But never mourn what we left behind Photos fade, but we keep the frame Pretend the past was just a game We delete old selves like files and names But ghosts still walk through all that's changed We raise a glass to what comes next As if the past was just a test We're always becoming, never being And wonder why we're always bleeding We chase versions of who we could be Like upgrades mean we're whole But you can't build peace on silence And you can't fake growing old We count the candles, not the days We praise the growth, not the graves We want the new like it's a prize But lose the spark we had inside Every year we say: This time I'll shine But never mourn what we left behind What if the best of me was seventeen What if I peaked before I dreamed Why do we move like time's a cure When it just buries us deeper than before We forget the songs that saved our youth We bury the pain with half-truths We run toward change like it's the end But lose the child we swore we'd defend We count the candles, not the days We praise the growth, not the graves We smile for the brand new year But mourn the soul that disappeared Every time we change, we leave some light We are the ghosts of what we left behind No one tells you when it's the last time You were truly yourself, before the climb