[Intro - horn fanfare, full band groove from the first bar, Hammond stab] [Verse 1 - sly, playful, rhythmic delivery, raspy alto with a grin] Fifty-five, I'm made of air, eyes slide by like I'm not there. Waiter turns to the girl behind, bus pulls off, I'm left in line. So I bought turquoise, bought it loud, yellow scarf, I wear it proud, tube of red in my coat lining - honey, I'm DONE with hiding. [Pre-Chorus - handclaps enter, voice climbs, building] Call it vanity, call it vain, call it chasing what the years took away - it's a flare shot into the dark, and the signal says... [Chorus - full band, horns blazing, soaring full-throated belt] LOOK AT ME NOW! [Backing vocals] Look at her now! I'm wearing red like a siren song. LOOK AT ME NOW! [Backing vocals] Look at her now! Been invisible way too long. Color on my lips, color in my stride, LOOK AT ME NOW - I'm alive! [Post-Chorus - call and response chant, horns answer each line] Still here! [Backing vocals] Still here! Red, red, red - still here! [Verse 2 - band pulls back to bass, drums and wah guitar, half-spoken, knowing] Got a PhD in why it's unfair, I could teach the class on the rigged old game. Still I flinch at the mirror on a Monday - knowing doesn't stop the sting all the same. And the posters at the old folks' home, every nail done, every curl in place - even at the last door, baby, they're checking on my face. [Pre-Chorus - handclaps return, tighter, more urgent] So I ask one question every morning, red in my hand, before I start: whose eyes are on me, theirs or mine? And the answer's in my heart... [Chorus - full band, bigger belt, growl on the last line] LOOK AT ME NOW! [Backing vocals] Look at her now! This red is mine, not the neighbors' rule. LOOK AT ME NOW! [Backing vocals] Look at her now! I ain't nobody's fool. Color on my lips is my own handwriting, LOOK AT ME NOW - and it's MINE! [Post-Chorus - call and response chant, horns answer each line] Still here! [Backing vocals] Still here! Red, red, red - still here! [Bridge - band drops out, Hammond and voice only, gritty and testifying] Let my silver grow last spring, they called me brave, they clapped and cheered. Brave is for breaking somebody's law - so whose law broke when my grey appeared? [Stop] [Silence - one full bar] [Spoken - low, amused, dry] Same old audience. Brand-new judges. [Belted raw - whole band crashes back in] I'M NOT ON TRIAL! [Final Chorus - key change up, full horns and choir, biggest moment] LOOK AT ME NOW! [Backing vocals] Look at her now! This face is a map of the roads I've run. LOOK AT ME NOW! [Backing vocals] Look at her now! Every line a place in the sun. Red on my lips, writing my own line, LOOK AT ME NOW - and it's MINE! [Outro - groove keeps rolling, horns trade with voice, playful ad-libs] Who's looking now? [Backing vocals] Just her! Who's looking now? [Backing vocals] Just her! Me, myself and my red, red, red... GOOD MORNING TO ME! [Horn hit] [End]
