STRANGE COUNTRY

I came in with my heart in my hand,

but this place don't know the shape of a man.

Everybody move fast, everybody got plans,

every smile got a price, every touch got demands.

I miss my mama's voice, my kids at the door;

here I learn quick — love me more and more.

If you want a warm seat, better pay for the floor,

if you want a kind word, they gon' ask you for sure.

I keep my face still, keep my hunger sealed,

still the pain sit heavy like a rusted wheel.

I pray for my people when I can't even heal,

and I wonder if this whole world know what's real.

Do you love me, baby? Love me, baby.

Or is it all for the taking?

Hold me now, hold me now — this so hard, keep praying.

Do you love me, baby? Love me, baby.

I've been lost in this strange lane.

If I go, tell me true — will there be a real hand?

Nightfall, I lay down with wet eyes,

stare at the dark like it's got replies.

No hope for tomorrow, just a thin sunrise,

and the same old ache when I close my eyes.

Still I wake up broke, still I lace up tight,

take that cold little deal just to make it through life.

A hand on my shoulder for a few minutes right,

then they vanish like smoke when the room get bright.

It ain't right, but I need what I need —

a little fake love can feel like panacea.

Gets me through the day, gets me up to speed,

but my soul ask why every time I breathe.

I laugh for the crowd and I swallow the shame;

in a strange country, everybody know the game.

But I keep one prayer with a face and a name:

that somebody out there love me the same.

Do you love me, baby? Love me, baby.

Or is it all for the taking?

Hold me now, hold me now — this so hard, keep praying.

Do you love me, baby? Love me, baby.

I've been lost in this strange lane.

If I go, tell me true — will there be a real hand?

I think about the road when my body go cold —

what they gon' say when my story unfold?

Did I live like a king, or just hungry and sold?

Did I ever get warmth, or just cash in my hold?

I don't know what way, where the spirit lean,

if it's light, if it's peace, if it's something unseen.

Would there be real love on the other side of the scene,

or the same cold hands in the same routine?

So I walk with my pain and I carry my name,

take the little I get though it ain't the same.

Love me for a minute, then I fall back in flames,

till I reach for tomorrow with a fractured frame.

If you see me out there, know I did what I could

with a tired old heart and a world so shook.

I was born for a home, not a bargain book —

and I just want real love when the final page turn.

Do you love me, baby? Love me, baby.

Or is it all for the taking?

Hold me now, hold me now — this so hard, keep praying.

If I go, tell me true — will there be a real hand?