[Verse 1] I walked into the room where the lights hang low Where the saxophone cries what the mouth don’t know And the old man said, “Baby, you gotta lose Everything you love before you sing the blues” Well I laughed so soft that the candle shook I said, “Darlin’, I could fill a whole damn book” I lost my sleep, I lost my shoes Lost my good-girl faith in the evening news [Pre-Chorus] I lost the house in my head Lost the prayers I said Lost the friends who looked away When the truth walked in dressed in red [Chorus] I lost everything but my voice Lost the life where I had no choice Lost the keys to the cage, lost the taste for the lie Lost the need to apologise I paid in pain, I paid in noise I lost everything but my voice [Verse 2] I didn’t lose billions, but I lost some years In the back room counting other people’s fears Lost my name in a family storm Lost the map that said abuse was the norm I lost my place at the table too But honey, I was never really fed there, were you? I lost the hope they’d understand Lost the begging bowl from my open hands [Pre-Chorus] I lost the need to be believed By the ones who watched me bleed Lost the script, lost the shame Lost the woman who carried the blame [Chorus] I lost everything but my voice Lost the life where I had no choice Lost the keys to the cage, lost the taste for the lie Lost the need to apologise I paid in pain, I paid in noise I lost everything but my voice [Bridge — spoken, smoky, half-laughed] Now Earl said the blues are pain and suffering Losing everything you had And I thought, baby… Finally. A genre with manners enough To tell the truth. [Saxophone break] [Verse 3] So pour me a song in a dirty glass Let the bassline drag my ghosts on past Let the drummer keep time with my tired old heart Let the guitar pull the splinters apart I’m not the girl who came in clean I’m not the saint they wanted me to be But I got smoke, I got scars, I got midnight proof And I got one damn thing they couldn’t take loose [Final Chorus] I lost everything but my voice Lost the life where I had no choice Lost the keys to the cage, lost the taste for the lie Lost the need to apologise I paid in pain, I paid in noise I lost everything but my voice [Outro] Mmm, I lost the room Lost the rules Lost the pretty little noose But I kept the blues And I kept the truth I lost everything Everything Everything but my voice
