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PAINTED IT SHUT lyrics
Artist-supplied lyric sheet, matched by title. The sheet may differ from this released performance. Production notes and alternate promotional cuts are omitted.
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Intro
They been squinting so long they forgot they had eyes Truth a window, and they painted it shut
Verse 1
Storm pregnant over the 441, sky Tylenol-gray Miss Yolanda on the porch watching Lil Twin catch a charge "He was a good boy," rehearsing it for a news van that ain't coming Pastelito bag from the BP, still warm, still pretending it's Tuesday Jit brother learned "don't snitch" before "don't talk to strangers" Funeral potluck Saturday, ain't nobody bringing the question Everybody saw, they gon' tell the detective they was in the bathroom Mt. Zion pastor know who moving white in the second pew, amen anyway This ain't ignorance, it's a group text everybody muted on purpose Broward Boulevard a confessional with the screen welded shut I was eleven the first time I saw what I wasn't supposed to Been unlearning how to look ever since
Chorus
Truth a window, painted shut Whole block squinting, glass ain't enough Hand 'em the daylight, they pulling the shade Y'all ain't blind, y'all just scared of what you gon' see next
Verse 2
DCF file thick as a bible, never opened past the cover Caseworker quote "resilient" when she mean "unsupervised" Public defender gave me six minutes, "take the plea" Judge seen the skin before she seen the file Teacher watched my brother fail, wrote "disruptive" Principal called the SRO who put a knee in his spine at 14 Auntie saw the signs on her nephew, swore it was the flu The flu had a hashtag by Monday, gone Dreads peeped what dreads was 'bout to do, said nothing, murder with a mouth Mama seen the nine in my jeans, closed the door like it was laundry They say you can't help what you don't see, they lying They can't help what they don't want to see That's a whole different verdict
Chorus
Truth a window, painted shut Whole block squinting, glass ain't enough Hand 'em the daylight, they pulling the shade Y'all ain't blind, y'all just scared of what you gon' see next
Verse 3
It's 4 AM and the A/C humming lies to me Cubano going cold, lime in the Corona gone flat I asked the ceiling what I been hiding from Ceiling said "you, mostly" Watched my cousin slip in 2019, I was in Orlando on a mixtape run Told myself distance was strategy, it was a door I ain't open Daughter looked at me like a stranger, I called my silence patient The block ain't the only one moving denial, I been my own best customer Turn the mirror, it know my government, it hold the receipts I'm the jury I been running from The gavel got my handwriting on it
Verse 4
Writing with my eyes peeled like the tape off a brick Documenting every blink the city wanna gaslight into reflex Yeah I see you, sak pase with the clipboard and press-on smile Commissioner at the ribbon cutting where Pork and Beans used to breathe Developers flip Liberty Square to "Liberty Bistro" for the Brightline crowd Pastor renting parking spots in paradise, three easy payments Pen sharper than the chopper, ink darker than the dope Reaching for the Bic 'fore the bill 'fore the bottle 'fore the rope Catch me on the overpass past the MIA turning thick air into affidavits Trained us to squint, I'm doing LASIK with the mic, call it 20/20 or suicide Truth a window, I'm breaking the glass on purpose I ain't asking for forgiveness, I'm asking for witnesses Every bar a Freedom of Information Act
Chorus
Eyes on the ceiling, stay awake Eyes on the casket, stay awake Eyes on the mirror, stay awake Y'all ain't blind, y'all just scared of what you gon' see next
Verse 5
To my niece Aaliyah, eight years old, logging every blink This song a key and you already know what door They gon' tell you it's safer not to see, they lying to save the dishes When somebody try to hand you a squint, hand it back When Miss Yolanda say "he was a good boy," ask what he was doing at 2 AM When the news call it tragic, ask them who profits When your own heart try to change the channel, catch it Look. Keep looking. Write it down. Tell somebody. That's how we build a city that can't gaslight its own children I love you. Don't close your eyes.
Outro
Truth a window Don't close your eyes
Inside the recording
They been squinting so long they forgot they had eyes Truth a window, and they painted it shut
Truth a window, painted shut Whole block squinting, glass ain't enough
Truth a window Don't close your eyes
Excerpts from artist-supplied lyric files matched by title. Lyric sheets may differ from the released performance.