[Funky beat] [More funky] [Funkier] [Verse 1] I saw you every morning at the 7:15 stop Staring through the rain, never blinking, never not There in your gray coat, hands deep in your pockets While the old lady dropped her groceries, you just stood there, locked in You never waved back, never turned your head When the kids laughed loud or the dog ran ahead The world could be burning, sirens screaming down the street And you’d be there, stone-faced, planted on your feet [Pre-Chorus] I made up stories 'bout the pain you must hold A heart gone quiet, a soul gone cold I thought, "God, what's the weight that he bears?" To make a man stand silent while the world despairs Oh, I thought you were a man who forgot how to care A ghost in a coat, just breathing cold air No smile, no anger, no words to say I judged your silence every single day 'Til I got close, 'til I finally saw You were never a man at all Just a mannequin, man, in the window display Of a shop that closed down back in May[Chorus] [Verse 2] I started walking past at night just to check Thought maybe you’d crack, maybe stretch your neck But window lights would flicker, moths would dance And you’d hold that same blank, empty stance Once a drunk man tripped and fell at your feet Blood on the sidewalk, crowd in the street I screamed, "Help him up, won't you do something?!" But your eyes were just painted, your hands were nothing [Pre-Chorus] So I called you heartless, I called you cruel Said you learned indifference like a broken rule I built a whole man out of your empty stare Never thought to wonder if you were even there Oh, I thought you were a man who forgot how to care A soul made of concrete, too numb to repair No flinch, no feeling, no hand to lend I wrote your whole story without a start or end 'Til I got close, 'til the glass let me through And the lie I believed finally shattered too Just a mannequin, man, with a price tag faded Standing guard for a store long vacated [Chorus] Yesterday the rain cleared, and I crossed the street Walked up to the window where we’d always "meet" Saw the dust on your shoulders, the cracks in your face The plastic shine where there should’ve been grace [Bridge] I pressed my hand to the glass, and I laughed, then I cried For all the sins I gave you, for the tears you never dried You weren't ignoring the world, you weren't turning away You were just waiting for someone to take you away How many people do we meet from a distance And turn into monsters in our own resistance? We write them as villains 'cause they don't fit in Never knowing they can't even feel their skin [Breakdown] [Final Chorus] Oh, I thought you were a man who forgot how to feel But you were never man, you were never real No heart to harden, no voice to break Just a perfect, quiet, beautiful mistake Now the store is empty, and the window is bare They took you down, but I still see you there My mannequin man, in your coat of gray Teaching me to get close before I walk away So if you see someone standing too still Not moving, not speaking, against their will Get close, get closer, press your hand to the pane 'Cause not every silence is hiding pain... Sometimes it's just plastic. Sometimes it's just plastic.
