**[Intro: Spoken]** Absolutely — this is the regal, wounded centerpiece. “The Golden Woman” should feel like she’s standing in front of a statue of herself and quietly going, you made this, but you did not make me. [aggressive old woman yelling] The Golden Woman!!!! **[Verse 1]** They carved my face in a yellow room With careful hands and a holy knife Put roses under my photograph And called it honoring my life They hung my dresses behind the glass Pressed every crease into a crown Told little girls I never cried Told old men I never came down **[Pre-Chorus]** But gold is only metal When nobody hears it breathe And I have been so beautiful It almost buried me **[Chorus]** They made me golden So I could not bleed Raised me up in the light Where no one could touch me They made me golden So I would not speak But I am not your statue I am still a woman underneath **[Verse 2]** They counted my records like prayer beads Framed every number on the wall Said, “She belongs to everyone now” Like I belonged to none at all They painted halos around my hair Softened the hunger in my eyes Turned every lover into rumor Turned every wound into design **[Pre-Chorus]** But I was never marble I was never clean I had a body in the spotlight And a shadow off the screen **[Chorus]** They made me golden So I could not bleed Raised me up in the light Where no one could touch me They made me golden So I would not speak But I am not your statue I am still a woman underneath **[Post-Chorus]** Underneath the gold Underneath the name Underneath the myth you made I am still flame Underneath the crown Underneath the praise I am changing, I am aging I am not afraid **[Verse 3]** I wore the years like a heavy chain Then learned to make the chain sing I kissed the plaque with my name engraved And felt no pulse in anything So I walked down from the pedestal With dust on my hands and fire in my knees If you want to love the golden woman You must love the blood in me **[Bridge]** Do you know I still get lonely? Do you know I still desire? Do you know I fear the morning When the mirror finds me tired? Do you know I held my baby With my makeup on the floor? Do you know I begged the darkness To give me one song more? I am not the light behind me I am not the frozen scene I am not the saint you painted I am still becoming me **[Final Chorus]** They made me golden So I could not bleed Raised me up in the light Where no one could touch me They made me golden So I would not speak But I am not your statue I am still a woman underneath **[Final Post-Chorus]** Underneath the gold Underneath the name Underneath the myth you made I am still flame Underneath the crown Underneath the praise I am changing, I am aging I am not afraid **[Outro]** Lay your flowers down But do not close the room I am not finished breathing I am not leaving soon They made me golden They made me still But gold can melt And women will.
