Lyrics

[Verse 1 — Low, Smoky Baritone]
When my pockets stayed talking
Everybody heard my name
They crowded around my table
While my hand picked up the change
Every joke I told was funny
Every doorway let me through
I thought all that admiration
Meant somebody’s heart was true
Then the money stopped arriving
And the invitations ceased
The same mouths that called me family
Couldn’t recognize me on the street
[Chorus — Warm Chest-Voice Rise]
Oh, now you don’t see me
You walk right past my pain
When I was pouring out the good times
You couldn’t stay away
Oh, now you don’t see me
Since my shine don’t light the room
But I see every false intention
That my money kept concealed from view
[Verse 2 — Behind-the-Beat Storytelling]
There was one good woman near me
Who could read behind each grin
She said, “Baby, watch those people
They love what you can give”
But I was busy feeling important
Let her warnings leave unheard
Now I’m sitting with her memory
And the weight of every word
I called the men who toasted me
When my name was riding high
Each telephone kept ringing
Till the silence answered why
[Chorus — Stronger, Rougher]
Oh, now you don’t see me
You walk right past my pain
When I was pouring out the good times
You couldn’t stay away
Oh, now you don’t see me
Since my shine don’t light the room
But I see every false intention
That my money kept concealed from view
[Bridge — Gospel-Rooted Climb]
A crowded room can fool you
When every glass is raised
Hard times clear the smoke away
And separate love from praise
One faithful woman warned me
But I chose the loudest crowd
Now I’d trade those empty voices
Just to hear her breathing in this house
[Final Chorus — Passionate Baritone Belt]
Oh, now you don’t see me
But I finally see you clear
You were standing near my fortune
You were never standing near me
Oh, now you don’t see me
That don’t wound me like before
I would rather walk with nothing
Than keep buying love I never owned
[Outro — Restrained Falsetto]
Keep your empty invitations
Keep pretending we never met
I lost money, not my spirit
And I haven’t finished yet
Oh, now you don’t see me
But one day you will
When I rise without your company
You’ll remember me still