Brown Sweater and Black Ski Pants

Verse 1

There was a brown turtleneck sweater on a hanger,

And black ski pants hung by its side.

Waiting in back of my mama’s closet,

Saved for the mornings when my scars needed to hide.

The sweater was so soft but it carried her message,

The pants were a mask she ordered I wear.

They were for her storms, not winter weather,

Hiding the truth Mama didn’t want to share.

Pre Chorus

I didn’t know why sundown turned her heart so cruel,

Why she let her darkness enforce such brutal rules.

But sunrise always came with her practiced line,

“Hide it all, little girl, no one needs to know the reasons you cry.”

Chorus

So I wore winter clothes in the hot desert heat,

Trying to cover what the truth lay beneath.

A child wrapped tight in a borrowed disguise,

Learning to swallow the hurt and live the lies.

So don’t even tell me now to let it pass —

I’ll be happy to show you the scars.

Yes, I’ll be happy to show you the scars.

Verse 2

Fifty years on and I still keep that sweater,

And those ski pants drape on a hanger again.

Reminders of doors that looked picture perfect,

In a house pretending it sheltered me then.

I learned to survive in my world of silence,

I learned to stand up despite the weight of shame.

Today those clothes remind me of hidden violence,

And how I rose from the place where I came.

Pre Chorus

I didn’t know why sundown turned her heart so cruel,

Why she let her darkness enforce such brutal rules.

But sunrise always came with her practiced line,

“Hide it all, little girl, no one needs to know the reasons you cry.”

Chorus

So I wore winter clothes in the hot desert heat,

Trying to cover what the truth lay beneath.

A child wrapped tight in a borrowed disguise,

Learning to swallow the hurt and live the lies.

So don’t even tell me now to let it pass —

I’ll be happy to show you the scars.

Yes, I’ll be happy to show you the scars.

I’ll be happy to show you my scars