THROUGH THE BLINDS VADYR [Intro — Dusty soul sample] Funny how a window makes a stranger out of somebody. [Verse 1] Moved in on a Tuesday, rain leaking through the ceiling Landlord said he’d fix it, same way politicians mean it Two flights up, no elevator, mattress on the floor I could hear the couple fighting through the thin apartment walls Across the hall lived a man who never spoke but always watched Peeking through the peephole every time my key hit the lock I’d come home late from work, he’d pull his curtains when I passed Like I brought the whole damn neighborhood a reason to be scared I was writing in the kitchen with the refrigerator humming Trying to make a little something out of nothing I was given Had a stack of unpaid bills underneath a stack of pages Dreams of getting out of debt, not getting famous Then one night, I heard him whisper when I walked past his door “Something’s going on in there, I can hear it through the floor” I almost knocked to ask him what exactly he’d been hearing Then I thought about my rent and let the silence handle business [Hook — Soulful, understated] They see a shadow on the wall Fill in the shape, don’t ask at all They hear a sound behind a door Decide what all the noise is for Everybody got a window Everybody got a view But the truth don’t live on either side Of what they think they knew [Verse 2] Couple weeks later, blue lights washed the building in the rain Three officers at my door, asking questions, saying names Somebody called about a package, said they saw me moving weight Said the traffic in and out was getting heavy every day I was standing there in work clothes, with a grocery bag in hand Had some noodles, cheap detergent, and a notebook full of plans They looked past me at the kitchen, at the mattress on the floor Like poverty was evidence they’d been looking for They searched around the apartment, found my lyrics, found my bills Found a photograph of Mama and a prescription I’d refill One officer read a page, then put it down without a word I could tell he saw a person, not the story he had heard They left without an arrest, but the damage had been done Now the people in the hallway wouldn’t look me in the front And my neighbor shut his curtains when I came back up the stairs Like the man who made the phone call wasn’t standing over there [Hook] They see a shadow on the wall Fill in the shape, don’t ask at all They hear a sound behind a door Decide what all the noise is for Everybody got a window Everybody got a view But the truth don’t live on either side Of what they think they knew [Verse 3] Then a month or so went by, I was packing up to leave Found a wallet by the stairwell, driver’s license underneath Same neighbor’s name and picture, folded cash inside the sleeve I could’ve left it on the landing, let him learn what losing means But I knocked and heard him moving, then the door opened a crack He looked older than I’d noticed, all the color leaving back I held the wallet out; he stared like I had brought him bad news Then I saw the little hospital bracelet hanging loose He said his wife was getting treatment, bills had buried them alive He’d been selling things he owned just to keep her treatment right The packages he’d been watching weren’t the ones he’d called about They were meals I’d brought my mother when she couldn’t make it out I didn’t tell him I knew. Didn’t ask him to explain Just watched him take the wallet with his fingers trembling faint He said, “I thought you were somebody I should keep an eye on” I said, “You were looking through the glass. You never saw what side I was on.” [Final Hook — Full soul sample, warm backing harmonies] They see a shadow on the wall Fill in the shape, don’t ask at all They hear a sound behind a door Decide what all the noise is for Everybody got a window Everybody got a view Funny how I found a man When I stopped believing what I knew [Outro — Sample fades] He still keeps the curtains closed. I still leave the hallway light on.
