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Words from the artist’s archive
COCOA BUTTER 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
Dear Mama, I been meaning to write this
Verse 1
Your hands smelled like cocoa butter and the 6 AM bus I remember you braiding my hair with the news on mute You hummed something Baptist while the coffee went cold Apartment 4C, the radiator ticking all winter I moved back home six months ago, you know that I know you noticed, but you haven't asked me why And I love you for that, honestly The guest room still got my eighth grade trophies on the shelf Like you always knew I'd need somewhere to land
Pre-chorus 1
And I keep telling myself this is what family does This is what the good ones look like when it gets rough
Chorus
You're not heavy, Mama, not to me I would carry this twice I would walk it on my knees Everything's good on my side, I'm good I eat right, I sleep fine, I'm good I'm good
Verse 2
Monday was the pharmacy on Sunrise, the long one Tuesday the specialist off University, waited two hours Wednesday I called Humana, forty-three minutes on hold Thursday I drove you to the bloodwork off Broward Missed my stand-up, told my manager the Wi-Fi dropped Friday the co-pay climbed another sixteen dollars Saturday I Googled caregiver tax deductions at 2 AM Sunday I made you oxtail the way you taught me You said baby, you don't gotta do all this But I do, though
Pre-chorus
And I keep telling myself this is what family does This is what the good ones look like when the bill comes up
Chorus
You're not heavy, Mama, not to me I would carry this twice I would walk it on my knees Everything's good on my side, I'm good I eat right, I sleep fine, I'm good I'm good
Verse 3
The billing coordinator's name tag said Joy She explained the payment plan like she'd rehearsed it nine hundred times Four thirty-seven a month for fourteen months on top of everything I signed it in the lobby next to somebody else's flowers I didn't tell you about that part Some things sit better in the quiet
Verse 4
Level three, row C, I sat there twenty minutes Not crying about you, not exactly Crying because I smiled at the nurse today and meant it And I don't know how much longer I can keep meaning it Called my job from the dashboard, they said take your time Like time is something I got left to give Wiped my face at the stoplight on Commercial Drove home like nothing
Verse 5
Mama, your garden still grows when you forget to water it I think about that I ironed your church dress even though you haven't gone in weeks The pills are sorted, the insurance is current The fridge is stocked, I promise you that much And if you ever asked me would I do it all again I would I would
Chorus
You're not heavy, Mama, not to me I would carry this twice I would walk it on my knees Everything's good on my side, I'm good I eat right, I sleep fine, I'm good I'm good
Inside the recording
Dear Mama, I been meaning to write this
And I keep telling myself this is what family does This is what the good ones look like when it gets rough
You're not heavy, Mama, not to me I would carry this twice
Excerpts from artist-supplied lyric files matched by title. Lyric sheets may differ from the released performance.