Nobody saw

[INTRO — spoken, soft]

They always tell you to be strong
'Cause you're the firstborn.
But nobody tells you
what happens when you're tired of being strong.

[VERSE — melodic]

I was just a little girl when I learned to be a mother
Cooking in the kitchen, looking after all my brothers
Everybody calling when they needed something done
While I put my own dreams somewhere underneath the sun

I cleaned the house, I made the plates
I carried things that weren't my weight
I learned to give before I learned to ask
And every sacrifice became my normal task

[PRE-CHORUS]

And I never asked for a medal
Never needed them to clap
I just thought that when they grew up
They would remember that

[CHORUS — emotional and BIG]

But nobody saw, nobody saw
All the nights I gave my all
Now they're grown and I'm the one
They look down on 'cause I haven't got a job

Nobody saw, nobody knows
How much of me I had to close
I was there when they needed me
Now who remembers what I gave for free?

[VERSE 2 — RAP, sharper]

Firstborn, I carried the load
“Take care of your siblings,” I did what I was told
But nobody told me I'd be forgotten when they grow
Now they have their money, while I’m left alone

Like the food on the table cooked itself overnight
Like the house stayed clean by itself every night
“You don't work, what have you done?”
But my worth is more than money in my hand

I was sister, daughter, caretaker
Everybody's emergency, everybody's lifesaver
But when I need somebody, suddenly it's complicated
Funny how appreciation disappears when you're no longer needed

[PRE-CHORUS — softer]

And maybe that's why I'm so tired
Of explaining why I'm hurt
'Cause when you spend your whole life giving
People think you never had needs first

[CHORUS]

Nobody saw, nobody saw
All the nights I gave my all
Now they're grown and I'm the one
They look down on 'cause I haven't got a job

Nobody saw, nobody knows
How much of me I had to close
I was there when they needed me
Now who remembers what I gave for free?

[BRIDGE — Ndebele, stripped down]

Bengingumntwana lami, kodwa ngakhula masinyane
Ngabathwala bonke, ngazifihla izilonda zami
Bafowethu, bodadewethu, khumbulani engakwenzayo
Angifuni ukubuyiselwa, ngifuna nje ukukhunjulwa

Ngangikhula lami, ngangilamaphupho
Kodwa ngawabeka eceleni ngenxa yenu
Ngabe sengikhohliwe yini?
Ngabe uthando lwami aluzange lubonakale?

[FINAL CHORUS — powerful]

Nobody saw, nobody saw
The little girl behind it all
She was taking care of everybody
While nobody asked what she wanted

Nobody saw, nobody knows
How many dreams she put on hold
But I'm not ashamed of where I've been
My worth is more than what I bring in

[OUTRO — soft]

Maybe one day they'll understand.

But until then...

I'll understand myself.

Because I know what I gave.

Even if nobody saw.