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Who Said It First 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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Verse 1
A stage, a podium, a phrase built to travel Eight words that settle what a decade won't unravel Both podiums have one, polished till it gleams Repeated on the airwaves till it reads like self-esteem Nobody wrote it here, it came shrink-wrapped and ready A complicated question with the answer held steady Say it enough times and it hardens into fact The room nods along and nobody nods back
Chorus
Who said it first? Nobody knows The line got passed around till it fit like clothes I opened up my mouth, out came borrowed quotes Who said it first? First... first... first
Verse 2
Section 114, my jersey, my religion When we win it's destiny, we lose, it's the officials Twenty years of arguments worn smooth as river stone I could run the bar debate on mute and win it all alone The rival fans recite a mirror version down the road Their heartbreak has a script too, we both know how it goes Neither one of us has watched the tape without the lens We inherited the grudge like season tickets from our friends
Chorus
Who said it first? Nobody knows The line got passed around till it fit like clothes I opened up my mouth, out came borrowed quotes Who said it first? First... first... first
Verse 3
Movie drops on Friday, the verdict dropped on Tuesday I knew what I would think of it before the previews came A ratio decided if the album's worth my ears Somebody else's hot take has been mine for years The trend arrives pre-loved, the discourse comes pre-fought I repost a conclusion and I file it under 'thought' By the time I press play, the play's already made An audience arriving with the ending pre-displayed
Verse 4
In fairness, though, who's got the hours to start from zero Vet a thousand headlines solo like some scholar hero Shorthand is a handle, it's how strangers find their kin A shared line is a doorway, it can let the lonely in So maybe it's a bridge, or maybe it's a leash Maybe both at once, depending where you plant your feet I went hunting for the sheep and found my own reflection I quote this very song now, no citation, no correction
Bridge
Maybe a talking point Is just a hand to hold inside a crowd Or a way to skip the thinking Say it quiet, say it loud I don't know who said it first
Chorus
Who said it first? Nobody knows The line got passed around till it fit like clothes I opened up my mouth, out came borrowed quotes Who said it first? Maybe me this time
Inside the recording
A stage, a podium, a phrase built to travel Eight words that settle what a decade won't unravel
Who said it first? Nobody knows The line got passed around till it fit like clothes
Who said it first? Nobody knows The line got passed around till it fit like clothes
Excerpts from artist-supplied lyric files matched by title. Lyric sheets may differ from the released performance.