Didn't Know We Were Poor

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Title: Didn't Know We Were Poor
Artist: T34L
Release Year: 2025
Released as: Album (Pin-Up Girl)
ISRC: QT6G72575294
ASCAP: 933822517

Mama stretched a dollar like she was tryin’ to make it fly
Daddy worked two shifts just to keep a twinkle in my eye
We had hand-me-down sweaters and a car that liked to stall
But I never saw the cracks or the shadows on the wall
We were eatin’ beans and cornbread, thinkin’ we were royalty
‘Cause the love inside that kitchen was the only thing I’d see

I didn’t see the light bill with the final notice red
I just felt the way my mama tucked the covers in my bed
I didn’t know the pantry was a desert of a place
I just saw the prayer they whispered when we said the grace

We had a roof that leaked but a heart that was full
Never felt the hunger or the heavy world’s pull
Lord, I didn’t know we were poor back then
I thought we had it all, from the start to the end
They hid the struggle in the pockets of their jeans
And gave me a kingdom built on busted-up dreams

It wasn’t ’til I grew up and I looked back at the yard
Saw the rust on the fenders and the way the times were hard
I realized Daddy’s boots were held together by some tape
While he was makin’ sure that I had every means to escape
They were starvin’ in the silence just to keep me in the light
They were fightin’ every demon just so I could sleep at night

Now I look in the mirror and I finally understand
Every sacrifice they carried in the palms of their hands

Wealth ain’t a number in a bank or a vault
If I felt like a princess, it was all of their fault
They traded their pride just to keep me in bloom
They were the sun in a cold, empty room

No, I didn’t know we were poor back then
I thought we had it all, from the start to the end
They hid the struggle in the pockets of their jeans
And gave me a kingdom built on busted-up dreams
Yeah, they gave me everything

I had everything
Didn’t know we were poor

Didn’t Know We Were Poor