[Intro — soft fingerpicked guitar, distant fiddle, warm upright bass] [Verse 1 — intimate, almost whispered] Mama kept the silver Where the sunlight couldn’t find it Granddad kept his stories In a drawer beside the Bible Every little scratch Upon the table had a name Every empty chair Still held a little bit of pain We wore our Sunday colors While the winter pressed the glass Talking like tomorrow Could forgive us for the past [Pre-Chorus — harmony slowly building] And the old floor creaked Like it knew too much Every hand reached out But nobody touched [Chorus — wide three-part harmony] We were mahogany and smoke Gold around the edges Laughing through the hurt Making promises like legends Raise a glass to what we lost Raise another to what stayed Everybody at the table Got a debt they never paid Ohhh— Mahogany and smoke We were beautiful that way [Verse 2 — upright bass becomes stronger] Uncle wore a black coat With a rose inside the pocket Said a man ain’t what he owns He’s what he does when he could profit Brother pulled the fiddle Till the strings began to bend Daddy hit the upright Like the wood was his best friend Then the room got quiet And the candles burned down low Everybody heard the thunder But nobody had to know [Instrumental Turn] [Mandolin begins chopping rhythmically] [Upright bass walks downward chromatically] [Fiddle becomes darker and dissonant] [One deep piano note] [Everything cuts] [Rap Verse — very low voice, slow and threatening] Look— I came up where the good plates Stayed behind glass Where the old heads talked— And the young learned fast No crown on my head No gold on my wrist Just a family name And a long... damn... list [Beat enters — huge kick, dry snare] [Rap accelerates] Of the ones who stayed And the ones who split Ones talked big— Never did shit Smile real nice Shake hands real clean Whole lotta wolves Walk dressed like kings [DOUBLE-TIME — rapid triplet cadence] So-I-learned-real-quick How-the-room-gon'-shift When-the-money-get-thin And-the-mask-don't-fit Everybody-got-love When-the-table-stacked But-you-find-out-fast Who-gon'-have-your-back I-don't-talk-too-big I-don't-flash-no-chain I-don't-need-no-crowd Tryna-scream-my-name Got-the-dirt-on-my-shoes Got-the-weight-in-my-chest And-I-came-from-the-kind That-don't-fold-under-stress [Stacked whispered voices] Don't fold... Don't fold... Don't fold... [Rap — faster, increasingly aggressive] Clean shirt— Old shoes— Dirt on the sole Grandma saying grace While I'm guarding my soul Everybody wanna eat When the whole thing's hot But when everything's gone— Tell me who you got? [Beat switches to brutal half-time] I know who stayed. I know who ran. I know who smiled With a knife in their hand. I know that love Can come with a cost. I know exactly What I gained— And what I lost. [Upright bass slap] [Silence] [Whisper] What I lost... [DOUBLE-TIME — final burst] I-don't-need-a-throne I-don't-need-applause I-don't-need-another-man Tellin'-me-what-I-was I-know-where-I've-been I-know-what-I-saw I-know-who-I-am— [ALL VOICES] I KNOW WHAT IT COST. [One-beat silence] [Massive folk-band explosion] [Final Chorus — huge harmony, stomping percussion, soaring fiddle] WE WERE MAHOGANY AND SMOKE GOLD AROUND THE EDGES LAUGHING THROUGH THE HURT MAKING PROMISES LIKE LEGENDS RAISE A GLASS TO WHAT WE LOST RAISE ANOTHER TO WHAT STAYED EVERYBODY AT THE TABLE GOT A DEBT THEY NEVER PAID Ohhh— Mahogany and smoke Let the old strings play Mahogany and smoke We were beautiful that way [Outro — everything slowly disappears except upright bass] [Soft male vocal] If these walls could speak They wouldn't say a word They'd just pull out another chair And let the truth be heard [Final upright bass note]
