(Intro - vinyl crackle, soul sample loops once alone, spoken) Everybody wants the testimony but nobody wants the wound Everybody wants the finished song, don't wanna hear the tune Before it all got mixed and mastered, before it got polished clean I'm about to give you the version that ain't been on no screen... (Verse 1) Got a scar behind my eye from a bottle that my father threw Got a scar down in my spirit from every promise he broke too Grew up thinkin' love was somethin' that would leave you black and blue Grew up thinkin' God was distant like my daddy always was too Took me twenty-something years to understand the two weren't tied That a broken man's reflection ain't the face of God inside Took a lot of therapy, took a lot of nights in prayer Took a lot of learnin' how to trust a Father who was there (Pre-Chorus) These scars ain't for the highlight reel, these scars ain't for the show But if I hide the healin', how's anybody gonna know That the deepest wounds I carried turned into the strongest part (Chorus) This is scar tissue testimony, this ain't a pretty song This is every break that healed up crooked, strong where it went wrong I ain't gonna sand it smooth for you, I ain't gonna hide the marks 'Cause the marks are how you know the healing actually did its part Scar tissue testimony, rougher than it used to be But stronger than the skin was ever, ever gonna be (Verse 2) Got a scar from every friend that left when I got too honest Got a scar from every church that made me feel like a promise Broken 'fore I even walked in, judged before I said a word Took a while to separate the Bride from the noise that I had heard But I found a couple people, found a couple honest hands Found a couple broken others who could finally understand That the church ain't the museum for the folks who got it right It's the hospital for people bleedin' out and losin' the fight (Bridge - beat strips to just the sample loop, no drums, vocals close and raw) I ain't finished healin', wanna be upfront and clear Still got days the old wounds ache when certain nights come near But I ain't the same man that I was when the breakin' first began Got a scar instead of an open wound, and that's the plan That's the whole design of grace, it don't erase the past It just changes what the pain does, makes the ugly finally last As a story 'stead of a sentence, as a scar 'stead of a scream That's the quiet kind of miracle, that's the slow but steady dream (Final Chorus - drums crash back in, sample loop layered thicker, backing vocals doubled) This is scar tissue testimony, this ain't a pretty song This is every break that healed up crooked, strong where it went wrong I ain't gonna sand it smooth for you, I ain't gonna hide the marks 'Cause the marks are how you know the healing actually did its part Scar tissue testimony, rougher than it used to be But stronger than the skin was ever, ever gonna be (Ever gonna be... ever gonna be...) (Outro - vinyl crackle alone, fading) Scars ain't the end of the story... scars are just proof I survived it.
