GARMENT FADE

[Verse 1]
The A-train rattle on the Fulton Street stop was the only drum you knew.
Hum of the bodega freezer case was the only hymn for you.
We wove a world from stories told over spilt Attieké on the stoop,
Now you stitchin' new patterns, pullin' loose the whole damn loop.
You learned to weave your lies in, a cheap wool blendin' with the cashmere,
Didn't think I'd feel the texture change, didn't think I'd see it from back here.
I saw the first bad knot you tied back in August, 'fore the air turned cold,
A story that you started sellin' that I'd already been sold.

[Chorus]
I made a god of you, built a whole damn church from the concrete.
Burned my own hands for you, laid my own gold down at your feet.
Now the pews are empty, the echo's just a whisper in the heat,
And you just a face on a tapestry that's fraying on the street.

[Verse 2]
Your new crew moves like polyester, shiny, cheap, and loud.
You cut the old threads one by one to better fit in with the crowd.
Remember you told me, "On my mother's eyes, this fabric's for life"?
Now that fabric's cut to ribbons, sharpest edge was on your knife.
The mask you wear now, is that Baoulé wood or just a new design?
I can't see the grain I used to know, can't recognize a single line.
The smell of new money burning up the old air on the block,
While you unspoolin' everything we had, just to watch the clock.

[Chorus]
I made a god of you, built a whole damn church from the concrete.
Burned my own hands for you, laid my own gold down at your feet.
Now the pews are empty, the echo's just a whisper in the heat,
And you just a face on a tapestry that's fraying on the street.

[Bridge]
Maybe the pattern was flawed from the jump, a knot I couldn't undo.
Maybe the dye was always gonna run, bleedin' somethin' false from you.
But damn, for a minute that color was true.
For a minute, that color was you.

[Outro]
The loom is quiet now.
Just one thread hangin'.