A song for my assimilation into the Texas school system.
Titled “Unlabelled Crowd”.
(Up-tempo country groove. Acoustic + drums + bass, light electric/steel.)
[Verse 1]
Walked into school, didn’t know the rules
Everybody lined up in their separate groups
Jocks in the corner, loud and proud
Cheerleaders shining, drawing a crowd
Smokers outside in a slow haze cloud
Hispanic kids laughing, fast and loud
Asians together, tight somehow
I stepped in once… didn’t stick around
[Chorus- punchy]
I don’t fit here, I don’t fit there
Tried a little bit of everything, went nowhere
Too much one thing, not enough the rest
Every single box just felt like a test
So I shook it off, let it all fall down
Stopped chasing a place in the middle of the crowd
If I don’t belong, that’s alright
I’ll find my own lane on the outside line
[Verse 2- faster, playful]
Counsellor said, “I got a place for you”
Looked at my face like she already knew
“Nerds over there, you’ll do just fine”
I said, “Ma’am… I think you skipped a line.”
Tried to play along, tried to blend in
But it never felt like the skin I was in
[Bridge- quick lift]
Maybe I ain’t lost, just off their track
Maybe I don’t need what I thought I lacked
[Final Chorus- bigger energy]
I don’t fit here, I don’t fit there
But I’m done acting like I care
Too much one thing, not enough the rest
Turns out I don’t need to pass that test
There’s a whole lotta space when you step on out
Past the lines they draw, past the doubt
And I finally found what I couldn’t see-
There’s a place right here for someone like me
[Outro- upbeat button → drop to spoken]
Yeah I found my lane, I found my sound…
Right here in the unlabelled crowd.