About the song
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Words from the artist’s archive
STILL HERE BREATHING 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
Four walls and a prayer, that's the whole inheritance American still means practicing your patience
Verse 1
Rent notice pinned beside the grocery list Thirty-seven dollars stretched across a week like this She count the eggs before she crack 'em, two per carton left Her daughter think they eating light 'cause mama said it's health Card declined at the pump on Ridgewood Ave She laugh it off, pay cash from the jar beneath the dash Nine-fifty an hour, gas at four-eleven Pray the transmission hold together past Route Seven
Pre-chorus
And you swallow it whole, don't say it out loud Fix your face at the register, keep your head down
Chorus
Still here breathing, still here bleeding Whole country aching and nobody speaking Still here breathing, still here bleeding Carry it quiet 'til the morning comes Still here
Verse 2
Scroll a hundred faces, none of 'em call back Pill bottle on the nightstand, cap already cracked He text the group chat Tuesday, no read receipts by Friday Convince himself that silence is just how grown folks grieve Therapist booked 'til fall, copay sixty-five His mama said just pray about it, hard to kneel sometimes When the quiet in the apartment feel like something permanent And the only voice he hear all week is his
Pre-chorus
(Foley: coin drop) And you swallow it whole, don't say it out loud Fix your face at the checkout, keep your head down
Chorus
Still here breathing, still here bleeding Whole country aching and nobody speaking Still here breathing, still here bleeding Carry it quiet 'til the morning comes Still here
Verse 3
Thanksgiving table split down the middle like the Senate Uncle post links from the bathroom before dessert is finished Cousin mute the family thread, couldn't take the venom Neighbor took the yard sign down but kept the barrel loaded Town hall packed with fury and half the chairs still empty Preacher talking unity, his congregation's dwindling Two Americas pretending they don't share a kitchen Same water, same pipes, same poison - different opinions
Bridge
My daughter drew a house today Yellow walls and a red front door I ain't tell her we got sixty days Just said baby that's beautiful, draw me more
Verse 4
Eviction letter folded neat inside his Bible pages Same apartment sixteen years, now it's market rate adjustment Moving truck on Flatbush, mattress strapped with bungee cords His son hold the goldfish bowl, don't say a single word Shelter wait list, weekly motel cost more than rent he owed Zip code used to be his roots, now a forwarding address Deposit he'll never get back, landlord kept the whole thing This the dream they sold him, he just can't afford the waking
Verse 5
She clock in at the hospital, five AM, still dark Clock out past the sunset, missed the birthday card Two degrees, three jobs, car note that don't sleep LinkedIn say she thriving, body say it's week fourteen No vacation days, no sick leave, no room to even pause Microwave the same plate underneath the same fluorescent Promotion went to somebody's nephew, that's the way it go She tie her shoes tomorrow morning, do it all again
Chorus
Still here breathing, still here bleeding Whole country aching and nobody speaking Still here breathing, still here bleeding Carry it quiet 'til the morning comes Still here, still here
Outro
Four walls and a prayer That's the whole inheritance
Inside the recording
Four walls and a prayer, that's the whole inheritance American still means practicing your patience
And you swallow it whole, don't say it out loud Fix your face at the register, keep your head down
Four walls and a prayer That's the whole inheritance
Excerpts from artist-supplied lyric files matched by title. Lyric sheets may differ from the released performance.