Verse 1
You said love was delicate—lace on a wire
But my heart’s a toolbox full of rust and pliers
So I gripped your promise like a broken tack
And whispered softly: peel my fingernails back
Not for pain, darling—no, don’t misunderstand
Just to see how deep your heartbeat stains my hands
If devotion’s a lock and the key’s a crack
Then kiss me while you peel my fingernails back
Pre-Chorus
Every nerve sings louder when you’re near
A violin made out of splinters and fear
Chorus
Peel my fingernails back, my love, slow and sweet
Let the thunder crawl under the skin of my feet
If love is a blade, then drag it across my map
Trace every border where the red rivers lap
I’ll laugh while the ceiling begins to collapse—
Just hold me tight and peel my fingernails back
Verse 2
You stitched little hearts on the lining of my coat
But they wriggled like worms when you cleared your throat
We danced in the kitchen with a hammer and a snack
You humming gently as you peeled my fingernails back
The moon chewed gum and spat stars in the sink
Your shadow tasted purple when I tried to think
You told me love’s a train that jumped the track
And the ticket was—you guessed it—peeling fingernails back
Pre-Chorus
Your smile flickers like a hospital light
Warm as a chainsaw purring in the night
Chorus
Peel my fingernails back, my love, slow and sweet
Let the thunder crawl under the skin of my feet
If love is a blade, then drag it across my map
Trace every border where the red rivers lap
I’ll laugh while the ceiling begins to collapse—
Just hold me tight and peel my fingernails back
Bridge
We ate alphabet soup made of tiny alarms
The spoons were screaming softly in your arms
A choir of staplers sang hymns to a goat
While a refrigerator tried on your coat
My bones turned into chalkboard dust
Your lipstick whispered, “Pain is trust.”
The carpet learned to bark and clap
And asked politely for its fingernails back
Verse 3
Now the sky is a blender full of wedding rings
And the pigeons have law degrees and violin strings
Your eyes are two microwaves humming in black
Beeping every time you peel my fingernails back
I told the wind we were deeply in love—
It mailed us a cloud shaped like a boxing glove
We slept inside a screaming backpack
Dreaming of fingernails… peeling… back…
Final Chorus
Peel my fingernails back, my love—don’t stop now
The horses in the wallpaper are taking a bow
My heart is a stapler eating a map
The ocean is coughing up bubble wrap
If love is a storm in a butcher’s hat
Then dance with me, darling—imagine that—
The sun’s a drum, the moon’s a snack…
…peel… peel… peel…
My fingernails back