Solstice Brisa - Paper Cuts Lyrics

[Verse 1]
Papá taught me how to switch my tongue
Between their words and ours, caught between worlds
I watched him fold himself like origami
Just to fit in their f*cking forms
In the fluorescent haze of waiting rooms
Where dignity dies in triplicate

[Chorus]
These papers bleed more than skin
Sign your soul away again
These papers bleed more than skin
Watch your name fade in the rain

[Verse 2]
2007, downtown café hell
Some gringo spitting venom, dad just smiled and nodded
While I burned inside, learning the art
Of swallowing pride with morning coffee
They stamped our dreams in black and white
But our blood runs technicolor bright

[Bridge]
File number, case number, alien number
Dancing through the system like puppets on strings
¿Quién soy yo? Behind the dotted line
Just another ghost in their machine

[Chorus]
These papers bleed more than skin
Sign your soul away again
These papers bleed more than skin
Watch your name fade in the rain

[Verse 3]
Accordion memories from abuelo's hands
Cut up and pasted on government letterhead
They want our culture in bite-size pieces
Served with a side of assimilation
But we're more than checkboxes
More than their categories can hold

[Outro]
In the echo of shuffling papers
I hear my father's whispered prayers
Between the lines of their jurisdiction
We write our own salvation
These papers bleed, but we still dance
These papers bleed, but we still sing
These papers bleed, but we survive
These papers bleed, but we're alive

[Chorus]
These papers bleed more than skin
Sign your soul away again
These papers bleed more than skin
Watch our names rise with the flame