Behind the Smile

Way back in the woods,

he lives all alone,

lightin' up the same fire,

night after night on his own.

Whiskey's burnin', the guitar's laid out,

the party starts up where nobody's about.

"I'm doin' just fine," he says,

with a smile that's fake,

but under them words there's a truth he won't shake.

Everybody thinks they know him,

thinks they see who he is,

but loyal — that word never fits.

Raised in a house full of people,

empty of love, daddy drank alone,

behind doors slammed shut.

Now the son walks the same path,

same dark every night,

"I won't become him" — but the mirror don't lie.

"I'm doin' just fine," he says,

with a smile that's fake,

but under them words there's a truth he won't shake.

Everybody thinks they know him,

thinks they see who he is,

but loyal — that word never fits.

His ego grows every time

a woman comes his way,

thinks he's some kind of god,

words smooth, slick, and sly.

Good at talkin', blinds 'em with his game,

but the ones who really know — see right through,

and slip away. 'Cause when they see the real him,

clear in their own eyes,

they turn and walk away,

and he's left behind,

stripped of pride, just him and his ego,

and the whiskey by his side.

I've never seen someone so caught up in himself,

talks about nothin' but him,

his ego growin' with every breath.

He's got very few friends,

some can't be bothered to show,

'cause they know there's always some kind of trouble waitin' there.

They'd rather talk feelings up in the clouds,

over the phone with him,

than stand in the middle of the mess,

year after year, again.

He's gotta stand tough,

he's gotta stand like a wall,

hidin' everything heavy behind whiskey and a laugh in the shed.

Nothin' ever changes, same circle,

same ground, but the ones who know him deep — know what

he's lost,

unfound.

"I'm doin' just fine," he says,

but it's heavy to hold,

never lets it show,

but inside he knows what hurts,

untold.

Everybody thinks they know him,

thinks they see who he is,

but the truth lives down deep — out of everyone's reach.