After The Applause (feat. Static Heir)
FRAGMENTED · (UN)BROKEN · Out 30 October 2026
Fragmented and Static Heir on a childhood performed for others: the polished image, the painted smile, the child who was a trophy with a pulse. Where were you after the applause?
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Credits
Artist: Fragmented
Featuring: Static Heir
Album: (UN)BROKEN (track 11)
Album release: 30 October 2026
Label: Fragmented Music
Lyrics
You dressed me up inside your perfect lie,
Taught me to smile while I died inside.
"Stand up straight, don't make a scene,"
A painted child in a family machine.
You loved the image, never the ache,
Polished the mask while I suffocate.
Every bruise hid behind "be brave,"
You built the stage, then dug my grave.
I was a trophy with a pulse,
A hollow kid you learned to sculpt.
No arms around me when I broke,
Just "wipe your face" — and choke.
Where were you after the applause?
After the damage, after the scars?
You taught me pain had better posture,
Turned my panic into manners.
Lost childhood under your command —
A shaking heart in a polished hand.
You wanted perfect, not the truth,
So you buried the child you used.
You called it love, I call it control,
A house so cold it swallowed whole.
You heard me crying through the wall,
But silence looked better to them all.
No aftercare, no safe embrace,
Just "calm back down" and "know your place."
I learned too young what not to say,
A broken kid trained to behave.
I was too young to carry shame,
But you poured it in and called my name.
You watched me drown, then blamed the tide,
And taught me how to hide.
Where were you after the applause?
After the damage, after the scars?
You taught me pain had better posture,
Turned my panic into manners.
Lost childhood under your command —
A shaking heart in a polished hand.
You wanted perfect, not the truth,
So you buried the child you used.
You don't get to call this love!
You don't get to wash your hands!
I was a child!
I was in pieces!
And you just needed me to stand!
Smile for the photo!
Bleed off the record!
Cry where nobody can see!
You built your name on my silence —
Now hear that silence scream!
No comfort!
No shelter!
No mercy after harm!
Just pressure!
Just posture!
No safety in your arms!
Where were you after the applause?
When the lights died down and I fell apart?
You loved the act, not the disaster,
Never came for what came after.
Lost childhood, stolen breath,
Raised on fear, trained to impress.
You wanted perfect — I needed proof,
Now all that's left is breaking through.
After the applause —
Nothing.
After the damage —
Nothing.
Just a child in distress
Learning love never came
When the curtain ends.
