Pink Lion Cub

I'm tired of being what you want me to be
Feeling so faithless, lost under the surface
Don't know what you're expecting of me
Put under the pressure of walking in your shoes
We've been up all night trying to survive this endless fight
Every step that I take is another mistake to you¹
No matter what they try, they won't take away our will to fight
If you shoot them down, we can make it right, we'll make it right

Wait
There's no mountain too great
Hear the words and have faith (Oh, oh, iyo)
Whoa (Oh, oh, iyo)
Have faith
Hela hey mamela
Hela hey mamela
Hela hey mamela

He lives in you² (Hela hey mamela)
We'll be the lionhearted³
He lives in me
For we don't care about it
He watches over
We'll finish what we started
Everything we see
So promise me that they'll fall
Into the water
They broke the walls we guarded (Hela hey mamela)
Into the truth (Hela hey mamela)
But we don't care about it (Hela hey mamela)
In your reflection (Hela hey mamela)
We'll finish what we started (Hela hey mamela)
He lives in you (Hela hey mamela)
So promise me that (Hela hey mamela)

Can't you see that you're smothering me?
Holding too tightly, afraid to lose control
'Cause everything that you thought I would be
Has fallen apart right in front of you
No matter what they try, they won't take away our will to fight
Every step that I take is another mistake to you
And up against all odds, take a thousand lives, a thousand lives
And every second I waste is more than I can take (He lives in you)

I've become so numb (He lives in me)
I can't feel you there (He watches over)
Become so tired (Everything we see)
So promise me that they'll fall (Into the water)
I'm becoming this (Hela hey mamela) (Into the truth)
All I want to do (Hela hey mamela) (In your reflection)
Is be more like me (Hela hey mamela) (He lives in you)
So promise me that (Hela hey mamela)

And I know
I may end up failing too
But I know
You were just like me with someone disappointed in you
But if you close your eyes
Does it almost feel like
Nothing changed at all?
And if you close your eyes
Does it almost feel like
You've been here before? (So promise me that)
I'm gonna be an optimist about this (So promise me that)
I'm gonna be an optimist about this
If you close your eyes (He watches over)
Can't you see that you're smothering me? (Everything we see)
But we don't care about it

Some trans people consider their pre-transition self to be a sort of spectre over their lives, a past self they can't run away from that doesn't represent them, yet a lot of people in their personal lives base their assumptions on. The recontextualization of the lyrics of Numb to follow this is pretty clear if this is known (i.e. "Another mistake to you", "Can't you see that you're smothering me?", and "lost under the surface"). What really works with this reading is that there still keeps multiple meanings: Numb's lyrics could refer to someone who is trans who is unable to take HRT, or it could refer to a transphobic person in a trans person's life who won't treat them how they want to be treated, or it can be simply the feeling of a trans person's previous identity hanging over them.
I think it's really clever to use He Lives In You, this song from The Lion King that is meant to be this motivational climactic piece, to instead weave an undercurrent of resignation. Because the subject of the album was a boy, it's this sort of sorrowful reminder that no matter how much change comes, they will never escape who they used to be. "He" lives in them, wether they want him to or not. Side note: this is why pre-pubescent HRT is So Fucking Important and the fact that literally no state in the united states is low risk for trans kids anymore is awful. Nobody should have to live years of their life as someone they're not and then have that used against them for the rest of their life.
Use of Lionhearted here serves a couple functions, I think. For one, it pairs nicely with the song from The Lion King, completing the title's pun with the backing of "Pink Pony Club". More importantly, I think it functions as a kind of rebellion to the despondency of the other tracks, which is why it directly goes against them in the chorus. Where He Lives In You is a thought of hopelessness, Numb is a plea, and Lionhearted is the resolve to keep fighting anyway, to not let that "past life" keep a stranglehold on how they wish to live now.

Pink Lion Cub

By Psynwav (2025)Featuring the voices of Chester Bennington, Urban Cone,, Lebo M, and BastilleFeaturing the backing of Chappell Roan and Noisestorm, with additional samples from Sloppy Jane ft. Phoebe Bridgers and I Saw the TV Glow

By Psynwav (2025)
Featuring the voices of Chester Bennington, Urban Cone,, Lebo M, and Bastille
Featuring the backing of Chappell Roan and Noisestorm, with additional samples from Sloppy Jane ft. Phoebe Bridgers and I Saw the TV Glow