Insider
Shane Koyczan & the Short Story Long Lyrics

The most dangerous criminal I’ve ever known has grown up sentenced to life serving time inside a maximum security prison that I call my rib cage.
The pain caused by a traumatic relationship is like a maximum-security prison that the singer feels trapped in.

From age nothing until now he has somehow managed to escape a total number of time and time again. Which if I took the time to add up would equal every instance between now and then.
Despite the singer's best efforts to forget about their painful past, the memories keep coming back and haunting them.

This is what happens when heart turns escape artist. When heart refuses to let missed moments multiply themselves into a monumental waste until all that remains of the fraction of a life.
The singer's heart tries to escape from the pain of missed opportunities, but this results in them feeling like they've wasted their life.

This is heart as Harry Houdini gently reminding me that as I child I planted bricks into the ground and grew walls.
The artist's heart is compared to the famous magician, Harry Houdini, and is reminding them that they built up emotional walls as a child.

I once upon a time loved to chase rainbows so learned how to cry waterfalls.
As a child, the artist was an optimist, but as they grew older, they learned to cry and feel sadness more easily.

From behind these bars I've heard the lovers issuing recalls on all the "I love you"s they ever said but never meant.
The singer feels trapped behind emotional bars and has heard others who have said 'I love you' insincerely.

And if you ever promised me forever I’m still here wondering where the time went.
The singer is still waiting for someone who promised them forever, but they are struggling with the passage of time.

You've had me put away, locked up, locked down, living underground, prison bound, and I never made a sound 'til now.
The artist's emotional pain has kept them trapped and silenced for a long time.

These memories and others like them stem from giving away my today and having no tomorrows.
The artist's painful memories come from sacrificing their present for the sake of their past and not having hope for their future.

My yesterday's wear halos because they died when I was sentenced to life for killing time.
The artist's past is idealized because they feel like they were sentenced to a life of pain and regret for wasting time.

It once seemed sane that I once wished I was born with out a rib cage so that my heart would be free to love you completely.
The singer used to think that physical pain would be preferable to emotional pain and regrets.

On the inside I am collecting the sharp looks you shot to me.
The artist is internalizing the hurtful looks they have received from others.

Through bars and bulletproof glass, through mass media and miss information, I am enrolling my lips in the higher education needed to speak your name with the same urgency we heard when we set off fire alarms and Richter scales.
The singer is gaining strength and determination to overcome their pain and speak out against their abuser(s) despite the barriers and misinformation surrounding their situation.

In both prisons and jails I have sat in my cell passing the time of a life sentence by casting shadow puppets of doubt.
The singer feels like they are serving a life sentence for the pain they have experienced and is struggling with self-doubt and insecurity.

Like a line from a the great actor my key has got a secret fracture, any minute I'll escape my capture.
The singer feels like they are on the verge of escaping their emotional prison and overcoming their pain.

You won't keep me here for long. Your plan keeps holdin' me down, I will soon be found, I will soon be found...
The artist is determined to escape their emotional prison despite the obstacles and barriers that have been put in their way.