Mirror Behind The Bar Raw Throat Raymond (Fire Cut)

[Start] [Intro – Slow Dirty Guitar / Foot Stomp / Harmonica Haze] Mmm. I know this room. Same ghosts, different jackets. Ain’t no mystery in a dive bar. Just easy, bad math with a jukebox. (broken jukebox) [Verse 1] Man in the corner with his ring turned in Laughin’ too loud through a borrowed grin You told yourself you just needed air But your phone got her name and you won’t look there You gon’ buy one drink then two more lies Tell some stranger you been “dead inside” Then tomorrow come limpin’ through kitchen light And you’ll act surprised that wrong stayed wrong all night [Turnaround – Spoken] Ain’t hard to read a man when he underline himself in cheap cologne. [Verse 2 – Blues-Rap Growl] Girl by the speaker with her jaw set stone Keep checkin’ the door like trouble got home You got good sense buried under nerve And a soft little heart you been teachin’ to swerve You gon’ text that fool you swore was done Let him turn your peace into a loaded gun You know the line You know the cost Still gon’ call it closure when it’s only loss [Aside – Low] Closure. That’s a fine word for openin’ the same damn wound with cleaner hands. [Verse 3] Young blood near the pool table waftin’ pride like stank Talkin’ big plans with an empty gas tank You got a mama prayin’ in a town you left And a brother learnin’ your silence by steps You gon’ chase respect from men with none Confuse a crowd with bein’ someone You gon’ throw that first word hard as a brick Then wonder how blood got in the mix [Turnaround – Spoken] Some boys don’t want a future. They want a witness for the damage. They tend to get what they deserve. [Chorus – Heavy Blues Swing] I can read this room like names on a wall Same little sins in a different drawl I can smell that lie before it learns to crawl Hear that bad choice puttin’ boots in the hall But I ain’t no prophet I ain’t no star Just an old fool singin’ near a sticky bar Everybody got secrets Everybody got scars And the mirror behind the bottles knows exactly who we are [Verse 4 – Blues-Rap Growl] Old man at the counter nursin’ hate in a glass Keeps polishin’ grudges from a long-dead past You got one son gone and one won’t call And it’s everybody’s fault but yours somehow You gon’ tell that story where you came out right Leave out the door slam Leave out the night Leave out the hand you never reached back Leave out the love you treated like flack [Aside – Spoken] Memory’s a crooked bartender. It’ll water down the parts that make you look thirsty. And charge you double too [Verse 5] Woman in red with her laugh too clean Knows every exit and what leaving means You been brave so long you forgot you’re tired Kept one hand free and the other in fire You gon’ smile real pretty while your spirit leaks Give good advice you yourself don’t keep Tell everybody else where the bridge stayed sound Then sleep in the flood when your own rain come down [Turnaround – Spoken] That one there hurt. Funny how truth gets impolite when it recognizes kin. [pause] No matter... [Chorus – Heavy Blues Swing] I can read this room like names on a wall Same little sins in a different drawl I can smell that lie before it learns to crawl Hear that bad choice puttin’ boots in the hall But I ain’t no prophet I ain’t no star Just an old fool singin’ near a sticky bar Everybody got secrets Everybody got scars And the mirror behind the bottles knows exactly who we are [Bridge – Low / Confessional Rap] Truth is… I turned my ring too before I lost the hand Laughed too loud when I couldn’t stand Texted ghosts and called it need Fed my pride till it learned to bleed Left good people holdin’ quiet rooms Taught young hearts how absence blooms Told old stories with the knife wiped clean Made myself hero of a dirt-floor scene Gave good advice with a rotten tongue Then went and did what I warned folks from So if I read you rough If I name your stain It ain’t magic, child It’s time, memory, and pain [Break – Guitar Groan / Foot Stomp Slows] Mmm. There it is. Whole room quiet now. Not ’cause y’all learned nothin’. Just waitin’ to see who I was talkin’ about. [Final Chorus – Full Band / Gravel Lift] I can read this room ’cause I wore them faces Walked them roads and ruined them places I can smell that lie ’cause I poured it neat Had that same bad hunger draggin’ round my feet I ain’t no prophet I ain’t no judge Just a worn-out man with a throat full of sludge Everybody got secrets Everybody done shed tears And the mirror behind the bottles been accusin’ me for years [Outro – Harmonica Fading / Spoken] So if you felt seen tonight… Don’t flatter yourself. Might’ve been you. Might’ve been me. Most likely, it was both. That’s the ugliest thing about wisdom. In my experience... it’s just regret that learned to talk. ( All a ya should go on home) [End]