About the song
They kept the name above the doorway. He kept the questions. "No patron but the crowd now."
No patron but the crowd now.
About these notes
AI-assisted song notes, based on the sources shown here. Not yet human-reviewed.
Words from the artist’s archive
MY COAT lyrics
Artist-supplied lyric sheet, matched by title. The sheet may differ from this released performance. Production notes and alternate promotional cuts are omitted.
Read the lyric sheet
Intro
They kept the name above the doorway. I kept the questions in my coat.
Verse 1
They kept the keys to every room I wired through the years. The camera lost its little light. The hallway lost my chair. My name fell off the payroll. My producer packed his case. The contract died in silence before its pages reached the face. A crowd that took me years to find went dark behind one screen. The rent came due on Monday before one word of mine was seen.
Chorus
No patron but the crowd now. No permission but the proof. No throne behind the numbers. No party in the booth. If I build this room from nothing, all the windows open wide. You may hate the answer that I bring. I will not bend it to your side.
Verse 2
One hall has brands and editors with buyers near the page. One hall has flags and donor lists with polling on a stage. A committee calls a consultant. A lobbyist calls a friend. A rival shop accepts the brief and hears what buyers hope. An office shares the number, and the network gives it scope. They never have to change a figure. Each decimal stays clean. Write the outcome in the question, then announce what people mean.
Chorus
No patron but the crowd now. No permission but the proof. No throne behind the numbers. No party in the booth. If I build this room from nothing, all the windows open wide. You may hate the answer that I bring. I will not bend it to your side.
Bridge
I found an old man's gospel buried underneath the dust: ask the people what they're thinking, then be worthy of their trust. The page did not say flatter them or choose the safer doubt. It said you owe the public the true answer, even when the answer puts you out.
Verse 3
No red money at the window. No blue at the door. If somebody buys the question, they do not get to buy the score. A thousand hands can pass the hat, one dollar at a time. You pay to keep the question free, not purchase what it finds. I owe you how I measured, every method, every mark; not a mirror for your anger, but a match against the dark.
Chorus
No patron but the crowd now. No permission but the proof. No throne behind the numbers. No party in the booth. They kept the walls around me. Now I know what walls are for. You can fire the man who's asking. You can't own the answer anymore.
Inside the recording
They kept the name above the doorway. I kept the questions in my coat.
No patron but the crowd now. No permission but the proof.
No patron but the crowd now. No permission but the proof.
Excerpts from artist-supplied lyric files matched by title. Lyric sheets may differ from the released performance.