They told me “Stand up straight” Like tears were dirt on my face I learned to swallow the rain And wear a grin like a brace But late at night in my room That mask falls off the wall And all the things I won’t say Start hitting like a call I don’t want to look small I don’t want the room to know But the truth sits on my chest Heavy as a stone “Boys don’t cry”, they said So I bit my tongue “Boys don’t cry”, they said So I grew up numb But I got fire in my eyes And a flood behind my skin If you saw the cracks in me You know where I’ve been “Boys don’t cry”, they said But I still do Chris lost his dog last spring Cancer took that old friend fast He sat on the porch all day With his hands in his lap Then Marcus missed his mom When the pills took over her He laughed so hard in public Then got quiet at the curb We don’t say what had broke We just carry it around Like a weight in our ribs Like a name we can’t pronounce “Boys don’t cry”, they said So I bit my tongue “Boys don’t cry”, they said So I grew up numb But I got fire in my eyes And a flood behind my skin If you saw the cracks in me You know where I’ve been “Boys don’t cry”, they said But I still do “Boys don’t cry”, they said But I still do Maybe tears are not a crime Maybe pain don’t make me less Maybe every scar I hide Is proof I survived this If I break, let me break If I fall, let me fall, let me fall I’m still here, I’m still me Even when the dam gets lost “Boys don’t cry”, they said So I bit my tongue “Boys don’t cry”, they said So I grew up numb But I got fire in my eyes And a flood behind my skin If you saw the cracks in me You know where I’ve been “Boys don’t cry”, they said But I still do “Boys don’t cry”, they said But I still do (I still do) (I still do) And I won’t be ashamed Of the weight I knew
