[INTRO — floor-machine hum, muted guitar, no drums] [Spoken] Yeah. I'm straight. [VERSE 1 — close-mic • behind the beat] Everybody got they assumptions "Oh, he good" — but I can barely function Almost said something, then they say "what?" — I say nothing Clocked in, nodded at the guard like "what up, Stan" I know his kids' names, he don't know the damaged man He know the jokester, the guy that make him laugh every time he pass He don't know I was crying in my fucking work van Whole building shining like I ain't have a bad day Supervisor call me "reliable" That's a word for a truck, not a man — but I smiled though Ate lunch standing up so I ain't have to talk Folded the foil back up like I was saving it for something [PRE-HOOK — drums thin out] And if you ask me twice, I might tell you But nobody ever ask me twice [HOOK — wider • doubled] Oh he good, oh he good Say it like they checked Oh he good, oh he good I ain't even said it yet Everybody got a version of me they can live with Oh he good — yeah. I'm good. I'm good. [VERSE 2 — tighter pocket • colder] Sunday at my auntie's, game on, plates on laps Came close to confessing, started to sweat Mind start running like Tony Dorsett Unc said, "Being a man hard, boy — leave your feelings on the doorstep Y'all work yourselves to death for little to no respect Kids you helped raise, and that old ball and chain Always gon' bitch and complain, make you feel like half a man So deal with it, son — you a number on a check You the one that cover rent That's just how it is. It ain't gon' change." Auntie in the kitchen ran the dishwater loud So she ain't have to hear the rest Unc wasn't giving advice, man — he was telling on himself And I nodded like it made sense Went and got a second plate [HOOK 2 — evolved, ad-libs answer] Oh he good, oh he good Say it like they checked Oh he good, oh he good Pass the greens, I'm set Everybody got a version of me they can live with And I keep feeding it — that's the part I don't admit [FAKE DROP] [DEAD SILENCE] [BOOC BOUNCE DROP — footwork, chopped "say what" vocal chop vs guitar motif] Say what — say what — Say what — say what — [BEAT CUT] [BRIDGE — no drums, guitar and hum only, almost spoken] My youngest asked me last week, "you ever get tired?" I said "tired of what?" and laughed till they dropped it Heard myself. Same move. Same "what." I'm teaching 'em to say nothing. [GUITAR SOLO — 8 bars, slow sustained bends] [VERSE 3 — half-time • guitar answers each line] Monday, Stan ain't laugh at the bit I been running all month Eyes red — said allergies. It's October I said "you good?" He said "I'm good" — same pitch, same shrug I know that shrug, I sell it wholesale Almost kept pushing the buffer down the hall Then I backed it up, floor still wet, I ain't care Said "nah — for real." Second time. Watched his face do what mine do right before it gives Twenty minutes 'bout his mama and a nursing home bill I ain't fix nothing. Wasn't supposed to Just stood there like the yellow wet-floor sign Making sure nobody walked through it [FINAL HOOK — stripped, then swelling] Oh he good... oh he good Wasn't nobody checking, I know Next time somebody say "what" I'ma say it slow Everybody got they assumptions I'ma give 'em something [OUTRO — hum fades last] [Spoken] Ay. You got a minute?
