[Verse One]
Look at the ashtray fillin’ up
Like smoke in my lungs
Just another sunset
Watch the night fade in, yup
Teenage boys tryin’ to holler down the street from me
At young women I see ‘em from my balcony
Puddles of broken asphalt
Reflect against the windows of a limousine
Heavens sake, at this age I know
It ain’t a hard thing to find a woman to come lay with me
But I don’t want a dam thing if she
Here for the ego boost and false sense of self esteem
The desire to touch for the sake of status erase all sanctity
Too many times I watch light die in a shallow girls eyes
Trying to make myself think she ain’t make-believe
I write this down at the blues spot and I see you lookin’ warm as bakery
Something about you cookin’ like you could take the cake for me
Look like you got enough years to be past all the bullshit
Cried enough tears to know life’s hard, but you won't quit
If you permit I will give you this word like cold water upon your lips
[Chorus]
Everybody got needs
Do you ever lonely?
Everybody got needs
Do ever feel guilty?
Everybody got needs
Do you ever feel thirsty?
Everybody got needs
Do you ever feel hungry?
I can’t lie. I won’t lie
It’s been long time since I touched a vibe
I can’t lie I won’t lie it’s been a long time since I testified
I want to know your story
I want speak your name
I want to touch your thigh
I want to fade away…
[Verse Two]
Struggle gave you poise and method
Confident and coy when I pause in the middle of my sentence
Just to breath in your essence
Your presence locked and loaded like a weapon
I should mention how you move through the world with autonomy
Honestly, single mother goddess artistry
Equipped with a career and humility
If you wanted me it would be want and never need
You proud as a panther sleek
I’m weak when you ask what I do. I skip the details
Direct the conversation back to you
We below the surface now
Outside of the venue the moon is out
We hear the music wash through the crowd
Everything seem brighter now
In your younger days, in your danger phase
With men you made mistakes
You pray your sister don’t do the same
And I see your pain tremble through your glance
As you touch my face
And I don’t see no claws and I ain’t no prey
But I see the symmetry of your jaw
And the strap of your bra on your shoulder blade
So I say, “Hey, I don’t live too far away.”
[Chorus]
Everybody got needs
Do you ever lonely?
Everybody got needs
Do ever feel guilty?
Everybody got needs
Do you ever feel thirsty?
Everybody got needs
Do you ever feel hungry?
I can’t lie. I won’t lie
It’s been long time since I touched a vibe
I can’t lie I won’t lie it’s been a long time since I testified
I want to know your story
I want speak your name
I want to touch your thigh
I want to fade away…
[Verse Three]
Your fingers walk my bookcase
Hours later I can tell there is something in your mind you ain’t ready to say
In the kitchen we laugh at my miss matching plates
You look for your socks
Tie your hair up
My hair is a mess, throw a shirt on my chest when I make you guac
It’s sunrise by the time you say
“Never again will I become a prisoner to my own love life.”
Romance is like theme park ride that I bought a ticket
For that wasn’t really worth the price
I learned, if you can’t love yourself, you can’t love your life
I love my life, I ride for my son, that’s do or die
My grandmama taught me about people with a gift to see
I see that gift in you
I see you through her eyes intermittently
I see that blue in your heart flickering
Your art collects all the hemorrhaging
But don’t be a fiend, a glutton for your own suffering
Not her name, not your art, not your pain, not one specific thing will set you free
But baby boy understand that you got the keys.”
[Chorus]
Everybody got needs
Do you ever lonely?
Everybody got needs
Do ever feel guilty?
Everybody got needs
Do you ever feel thirsty?
Everybody got needs
Do you ever feel hungry?
I can’t lie. I won’t lie
It’s been long time since I touched a vibe
I can’t lie I won’t lie it’s been a long time since I testified
I want to know your story
I want speak your name
I want to touch your thigh
I want to fade away…
[Extended Narrative]
She kissed me once more as morning passed into daylight
And said goodbye
I said, “We been here before.”
She said. “Take it one lifetime at a time.”
And then told me
“You can’t do everything all at once
Everything is already happening all at once
You are one part of everything all at once
Do everything you can to be the best part of yourself and show up.”
And I was like, “Whaaa?”
Then she said, “And to answer your question, of course
Sometimes I feel lonely
Sometimes I feel holy
Sometimes I feel angry
Sometimes I feel crazy
Sometimes I feel hungry
Sometimes I feel lovely
Sometimes I feel ugly
Sometimes I feel so clean.”
