About the song
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Words from the artist’s archive
SIDEWALK CARPET 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 said the velvet rope was not for me, I took a needle, stitched my own
Verse 1
Same coat three winters, cuffs frayed where the seam bit Bus stop glass reflecting fits I only saw on lit screens Clipping runway walks at midnight, saving every angle Corner store fluorescent buzz humming on my collarbone Mama pressed a crease so sharp you could cut the conversation I traced silhouettes on notebook paper, called it practice Dusty kicks, but my proportions never lied once
Pre-chorus
Mirror caught me different, shoulders squared without permission Something in the glass said, you been curating your whole life
Chorus
Sidewalk is the carpet, streetlight is the flash Every fit a painting, I'm the gallery they lack Cracked concrete, couture, don't need your velvet pass Sidewalk is the carpet, watch me walk it back
Verse 2
Thrifted linen, scissors to the collar, made it mandarin Stitched a pocket square from curtain scraps my aunt was tossing Walked into the function and they just looked through me Nah, let me tell it right, not a laugh, just silence They scan you head to toe, file you under decor Went home, hung the jacket on the door, stared at it Second-guessed the cut, the color, everything I saw
Pre-chorus
But the mirror caught me different, spine a little taller now Something in the thread said, they don't set the standard, you do
Chorus
Sidewalk is the carpet, streetlight is the flash Every fit a painting, I'm the gallery they lack Cracked concrete, couture, don't need your velvet pass Sidewalk is the carpet, watch me walk it back
Verse 3
Grandma ironed shirts on Sunday like she pressed a lawsuit Late nights building albums, not of photos but of textures Studying the drape the way some kids memorize the playbook Teacher stopped me, said your eye is architectural Stranger at the boutique asked who designed the layering Wait, I did, with dollar-bin fabric and a vision That's when I understood, the eye was the garment
Bridge
Silk against my wrist, the hush of empty hallways Every hem I cut was practice for the rooms I'm entering
Verse 4
Walked into the pop-up dressed like someone hung me on a wall Neighborhood codes fused with shapes they charge a thousand for Not begging for a seat, I brought my own furniture Every gala on the timeline? Future waiting rooms for us
Verse 5
Back on the same block, heads turning slow, not shock Teaching lil' homies: pull that closet inside out, rearrange Your reflection is the sketch, your confidence the frame Every sidewalk is a retrospective, every fit a statement You don't need the guest list when the whole exhibit's you
Chorus
Sidewalk is the carpet, streetlight is the flash Every fit a painting, I'm the gallery they never had Cracked concrete, couture, don't need your velvet pass Sidewalk is the carpet, I built this from scratch
Outro
Hung my own portrait, didn't ask for wall space
Inside the recording
They said the velvet rope was not for me, I took a needle, stitched my own
Mirror caught me different, shoulders squared without permission Something in the glass said, you been curating your whole life
Hung my own portrait, didn't ask for wall space
Excerpts from artist-supplied lyric files matched by title. Lyric sheets may differ from the released performance.