[Verse 1]
Tuesday, four-fifteen, my name tag sits a little crooked
Customer yells about a coupon, I just nod like it's not noted
Teeth lined up like a picket fence, voice syrup-sweet and slow
Inside my ribs a kettle's screaming, nobody gets to know
I'm stacking cups, wiping counters, restocking the straws
Manager walks by, says "good energy," never checks because
My face turned rictus hours back — a grin stitched into place,
a smile that keeps on standing when there's nothing left to brace
Six more hours on the clock, my chest a drum pulled tense
I'm folding napkins, folding inward, folding up my own defense
[Chorus]
I wear the smile like a borrowed coat, too tight across the seam
Nobody knows the weight of looking fine while coming apart at the seam
I wear the smile like a borrowed coat, pulling it round my frame
Nobody knows the cost of holding steady while something's breaking underneath the same
[Verse 2]
That night in the break room, I text my sister, nothing fancy
"Today was hard" — she doesn't fix it, just says "I hear you, plainly"
Says "you don't owe your face to strangers buying fries and ketchup packs"
Says "take the Thursday, it's allowed, you don't gotta earn it back"
So I open up the Work tab, find the button marked time off
Tap "emergency," it's booked in a minute — no essay, no scoff
Could be planned months out too — a wedding, a slow quiet Sunday
It's the same small door either way, just you deciding you're a person, not just a uniform display
[Bridge]
The smile still shows up most mornings, that part doesn't just dissolve
Some shifts still need the mask on, some customers won't resolve
But I'm learning the thin line between performing and erasing all of me
Between bending my face for a wage and bending till there's nothing left to see
[Verse 3]
Friday rolls around, I clock in with my shoulders set a little lighter
Still got bills to pay, still got rent that never gets politer
But I learned to drop the mask when the register goes quiet
Breathe between the customers, let my real face have its minute's riot
The kettle's still there, simmering low, but I turned the dial down some
I'm learning you can wear the coat and still remember where you're from
Learning that the smile's a tool, not a tomb to build my whole life round
Learning I can set it down at night and still get up, still be found
[Chorus]
I wear the smile like a borrowed coat, too tight across the seam
Nobody knows the weight of looking fine while coming apart at the seam
I wear the smile like a borrowed coat, pulling it round my frame
Nobody knows the cost of holding steady while something's breaking underneath the same
[Chorus]
I wear the smile like a borrowed coat, too tight across the seam
Nobody knows the weight of looking fine while coming apart at the seam
I wear the smile like a borrowed coat, pulling it round my frame
Nobody knows the cost of holding steady while something's breaking underneath the same