[INTRO] I know what you see... when you look at me. I seen it a thousand times. The flinch. The quick step back. The hand that reaches for a stone. But I ain't askin' for your pity... ...just your time. That's all. Just... stay. [VERSE 1] My back is bent, my skin is green My fingers curl like twisted vine The children scream when I am seen And grown men cross themselves and sign I live beneath this crooked bridge Where rain don't fall, it just collects I've worn the moss upon my ridge For ninety years, I don't forget You see the wart upon my nose You smell the bog upon my breath But you don't see the hand that froze To pull a fool from icy death [PRE-CHORUS] I held a baby bird that fell I mended wing with thread and bone I sat with it 'til it was well Then watched it fly... and fly alone 'Cause pretty things, they always leave They got no use for ugly hands But if you'd stay, you'd soon believe There's more to me than what withstands [CHORUS] Look past the warts, look past the scars Beneath the mud, I've caught the stars I may be green, I may be foul But darlin', I can hold a vow This heart inside this ragged chest Has loved you long before you guessed I'm not the monster that you fear— I'm just the one who's always here [VERSE 2] I've watched you cross a thousand times With heavy boots and heavier mind You never saw me in the grime But I was watchin'—kind and blind I left you gifts along the trail A glowing stone to light the dark A feather from the bird I saved A single, silent, hopeful mark But you just kicked 'em to the side You thought they was some goblin's game You never stopped to wonder why A monster knew your very name [BRIDGE] Under this mucus, under this grime I'm still a woman countin' time I've wept alone for fifty years And drowned the bog with all my tears I never asked for pretty skin I only asked to let you in I'll braid your hair, I'll mend your coat I'll be the anchor for your boat So tell me, traveler, tell me true— Ain't you been ugly sometimes too? Ain't you been desperate, cracked, and torn, And wished somebody saw the dawn Inside your chest where hope was born? [FINAL CHORUS] LOOK PAST THE WARTS, LOOK PAST THE SCARS! BENEATH THE MUD, I'VE CAUGHT THE STARS! I MAY BE GREEN, I MAY BE FOUL— BUT DARLIN', I CAN KEEP A VOW! THIS HEART INSIDE THIS RAGGED CHEST HAS LOVED YOU LONG BEFORE YOU GUESSED! I'M NOT THE MONSTER THAT YOU FEAR— I'M JUST THE ONE... THE ONE... WHO'S STAYED RIGHT HERE! [OUTRO] I know... I know I ain't pretty. I know my voice sounds like gravel in a coffee can. But when the rain comes... and it always comes... I'm the one who'll hold the roof up. I'm the one who'll hold YOU up. You don't gotta love me. You just gotta... see me. Just once. That's all I ask.
