Lyrics
There’s a crack in the ceiling, they point at my hands,
Like I climbed through the night with a hammer and plans.
There’s smoke in the kitchen, no match in my coat,
Still they read me the fire like I wrote every note.
I set one brick crooked in a wall made of stone,
Now the whole house leans and I’m standing alone.
Everybody’s got scales, everybody keeps score,
But the weight on their side keeps on finding my door.
And I swallow the thunder, I bury the spark,
Learned to carry my name like a match in the dark.
When the rain starts falling and they need somewhere to point—
It’s always me, it’s always me,
The shadow on the wall when the lights don’t agree.
But I keep my eyes on the mountain, my hands on the wheel,
Don’t trade what is right for the way that I feel.
It’s always me, it’s always me,
The stone in the river when they’re blaming the sea.
Still I walk that straight road, though it cuts through the sand,
Do the good thing anyway, stand up and be a man.
I brought home the daylight, they asked for the sun,
Like a candle’s a crime when the morning won’t come.
I poured out my pockets, gave all I could give,
They measured the empty, not the reason I lived.
There’s a chair at the table where my silence sits down,
Wearing every old mistake like a second-hand crown.
I’ve been the loose nail, the cold cup of tea,
The name on the wind when the roof meets the trees.
But a man ain’t made by the cheers in the room,
Or the flowers they throw when he walks through the gloom.
He’s made when the whole world is begging him to bend—
It’s always me, it’s always me,
The shadow on the wall when the lights don’t agree.
But I keep my eyes on the mountain, my hands on the wheel,
Don’t trade what is right for the way that I feel.
It’s always me, it’s always me,
The stone in the river when they’re blaming the sea.
Still I walk that straight road, though it cuts through the sand,
Do the good thing anyway, stand up and be a man.
Let them call me the storm, I’ll keep planting the field.
Let them hand me the wound, I’ll be learning to heal.
Let them darken my window, I won’t curse the flame.
I can carry the burden without wearing the shame.
There’s a prize past the noise, past the teeth, past the crowd,
Past the voices that only know how to get loud.
And I won’t lose my soul just to prove where I stand—
I’ll do right when it’s lonely,
I’ll do right like a man.
It’s always me, it’s always me,
The shadow on the wall when the lights don’t agree.
But I keep my eyes on the mountain, my hands on the wheel,
Don’t trade what is right for the way that I feel.
When the glass hits the floor—
It’s always me.
When the lock won’t turn—
It’s always me.
But I’ll keep walking clean
Where nobody can see,
Do the good thing anyway—
Even when it’s always me.
