Verse 1 Everybody’s got a story they swear is true ‘bout the way he drinks, the way he moves He’s a little too fast, a little too loud always somewhere in the middle of a crowd They say he never stays in one place long same old jokes, same old song and every barstool preacher in this town knows exactly how to tear him down ⸻ Pre-Chorus I used to hear it like everybody else never thought to look for myself ⸻ Chorus Everybody talks about the man they talk about I stopped listening to the crowd Everybody talks like they already know I listened to what he didn’t show Everybody builds him up, tears him down I stayed right where the quiet lives now Everybody talks about the man they talk about I met the one who finally let it out ⸻ Verse 2 He laughs it off like it don’t stick like words can’t land if you move too quick but I’ve seen him go quiet when the room gets still like something in him never will He don’t ask for much to be enough just keeps one foot ready in case it gets rough and he’ll change the subject when it gets too real like he don’t trust the way it feels ⸻ Pre-Chorus I didn’t reach when the silence came just stayed the same ⸻ Chorus Everybody talks about the man they talk about I stopped listening to the crowd Everybody talks like they already know I listened to what he didn’t show Everybody builds him up, tears him down I stayed right where the quiet lives now Everybody talks about the man they talk about I met the one who finally let it out ⸻ Bridge He said, “I stopped believing people stay…” like it wasn’t something he meant to say I didn’t press when he went quiet just let it sit there between us just asked me to stay a little longer and didn’t let go of my hand ⸻ Final Chorus (lift / emotional peak) Everybody talks about the man they talk about I stopped listening to the crowd Everybody talks like they already know I listened to what he didn’t show They built him up, tore him down, moved on I stayed right where the quiet lives on Everybody talks about the man they talk about I met the one who finally let it out ⸻ Final Moment and nobody said a word after that
