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Lafayette Street Lyrics by Patrick Roche

2015

On my way from the Nuyorican poet's cafe to my boyfriend's apartment, I'm walking on Lafayette Street, when a man confronts me.
"Where you goin', princess?"
When I don't acknowledge him at all,
He shouts "Faggot!", "Pussy!", "Bitch!",
And I should've been angry, but internalized homophobia is quite the saboteur.
So I spent the next three days wondering where I slipped up.
Too often,
Young queer people have to learn to hide their own names, Remove the switch in their step,
Blend in with the wallpaper.
So where had I failed in this chameleon training?
How could he tell?
Maybe he looked into my mouth,
Saw the quivering tongue, afraid of betraying years of speech therapy to straighten my lisp.
Maybe he saw the anchors I fixed to my wrist to make them anything but limp.
Maybe he saw through the masks I've built ever since I realized that sometimes it's safer in costume.
Maybe he just thought that was the worst thing he could call me, like he had chewed on my name, and spat out new ones for me.
"Faggot!', "Pussy!", "Bitch!'
Or maybe,
Maybe he could smell the child fermenting in my own shame,
That child didn't know the meaning of shame,
That child only who only answered to his own name,
That child, even now, rotting away, somewhere inside me.
Credits
Patrick Roche

Patrick Roche

About “Lafayette Street” by Patrick Roche

Read the complete lyrics to "Lafayette Street" by Patrick Roche in 2015. On Lyrks you can follow along with the full text, explore the artist's discography, and discover related songs. The track is often categorized under Non-Music, Literature.

"Lafayette Street" is performed by Patrick Roche. in 2015 This page provides the full lyric text for fans who want to sing along, study the songwriting, or compare versions across releases. Lyrks organizes lyrics by artist and song slug so you can bookmark and share a stable URL. Music lyrics help listeners connect with emotion, narrative, and rhythm in a track. Whether you are learning English, researching a favorite chorus, or preparing for karaoke, having accurate line breaks and section labels (verse, chorus, bridge) makes the experience easier. We link to the official artist profile on Lyrks where available, including biography snippets, top songs, and chart placements when we have that data. If you enjoy "Lafayette Street", explore more songs by Patrick Roche using the links below. Chart and trending pages on Lyrks highlight what listeners are searching for this week. For copyright or correction requests, see our DMCA and contact pages.

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