[Verse 1] I had a beautiful face, a beautiful life, Strong white teeth and movie-star eyes, Tall and lean with a crooked grin— I never knew how much I loved my own skin. Then I found the door behind another man’s eyes, And crossed it once just because I could try, Woke in his body, laughed at the joke— Then reached for the doorway... And the way back was broke. [Pre-Chorus] No going backward, No second chance, My body walked off With another man. [Chorus] THE MAN I FOLLOW WEARS MY FACE, HE LIVES IN MY BODY, HE STANDS IN MY PLACE. His hands are my hands, He blinks with my eyes, With my perfect lips, He tells all his lies. [Verse 2] So I kept moving—what else could I do? A sailor in Bangkok, a banker in Peru, Young for a summer, old for a year, Every new body got me farther from here. I learned new hands, I earned new scars, Woke beneath strange ceilings, wept in foreign bars, At first the whole world was mine to explore— Then every mirror became another locked door. [Pre-Chorus] I started dreaming of my hands, The way my shoulders used to bend, The stupid wrinkle by my mouth, The shape I thought would never end. [Chorus] THE MAN I FOLLOW WEARS MY FACE, HE LIVES IN MY BODY, HE STANDS IN MY PLACE. THE MAN I FOLLOW— I KNOW EVERY LINE, EVERY SCAR ON HIS BODY WAS ONCE ONLY MINE. [Verse 3] Then years later, there he was, Sitting alone beneath a barroom light, Older now, but beautiful still— My body breathing in front of me that night. I watched him leave. I followed him home. Learned where he worked, Learned where he’d go. Watched him wear my face, Watched him live my life, Watched another man Be me every night. [Bridge] I wanted to touch him. Not hurt him. Not take revenge. Just put my hands On my own shoulders again. So I chose her carefully— Beautiful too. [Breakdown] I sat beside myself. I smiled at myself. I kissed my own mouth With somebody else’s lips, Held my own hands In somebody else’s fingertips. [whispered] There you are. [Final Chorus] THE MAN I FOLLOW WEARS MY FACE, HE LIVES IN MY BODY, HE STANDS IN MY PLACE. His hands are my hands, He blinks with my eyes, With my perfect lips, He tells all his lies. I CAN’T BE HIM. I CAN’T GO HOME. So I lie beside myself And pretend I’m not alone. [Outro] He sleeps. I watch. My face in the dark. My hands on the sheets. My breath in his chest. [whispered] The man I follow.
