Intro:
Soft rimshot on the offbeat, handclap sighs — I tell my story
Verse 1:
I learned to love on a wooden porch,
Sewing lamp flicker, rain on the roof.
Market smoke, boiled coffee, his rough hands warmin' mine,
He whistled low and called me yours, said the world would be fine.
We shared a blanket, counted stars and small-town dreams,
His shirt smelled like tar and corn, his laugh like river streams.
But there was a hunger under my ribs, a quieter kind of shame —
I wanted light that didn't tremble, wanted a different name.
Chorus 1:
Climbin' for gold, losin' my hold (yeah),
Step by step, I left the old road.
Climbin' for gold, bright glitter and cold —
I learned to trade a heart for a coat.
Verse 2:
He met me in a ballroom where the chandeliers blink slow,
Perfume of jasmine, satin shoes, tipped chandeliers aglow.
They handed me a cigarette like I was in a scene,
Velvet whispers, whispered contracts, keys to a different dream.
Champagne fizz on my tongue, a portrait in gilt frames,
They taught me how to smile, how to file my name.
But in the hush between the jazz and the valet's click,
I tasted the price on my tongue, felt the first small prick.
Chorus 2:
Climbin' for gold, losin' my hold (oh),
Dressed in lace, but my nights feel cold.
Climbin' for gold, the diamonds say so —
A throne that don't hold when the wind blow.
Verse 3:
Rooftop lights like constellations, silk curtains in the wind,
I sway with power on my wrist, but there's a hollow spin.
A mirror in my powder room holds a face I've come to know,
Lipstick like a scar, a smile practiced for the show.
City sirens hum below, the rooftop band plays on,
They clap me for my timing, they don't hear the song gone wrong.
I stand queen in a glass tower, crown made of borrowed fire,
Counting every step I took, every rung climbed higher.
Bridge:
Sometimes I find his old cup in the sink, a smear of coffee grounds,
A scribbled little note saying “come back” in his town.
I smell the market rain in my sheets and hear a porch-swing creak,
He loved me plain and steady — I chose the flash, the sleek.
Who teaches you to barter heart for silver, for applause?
Who shows the cost when the curtains fall and there's no cause?
I touch the photograph, edges worn from times we'd laugh,
And wonder which was truer — the warm or the photographed.
Chorus 3 (variation — late-night):
Climbin' for gold, losin' my hold (ahhh),
Shiny steps, but my soul feel sold.
Climbin' for gold, applause gets old —
In the mirror I ask, who kept the old? Who bought my soul?
Outro (call-and-response):
Lead vocal: Who gonna hold me now, when the lights go down?
Backing: Who gonna hold me now? (Who?)
Lead: Who gonna heal the hush when the crowd's around?
Backing: Who gonna heal the hush? (Who?)
Final Tag:
I climbed for gold, yes I climbed for gold,
Took the ladder rung by rung, left the ash of home cold.
Now on this rooftop, champagne glass and lonely sky,
I reckon with the price of shine — and the echo of goodbye.
Call-and-response fade:
Lead: Climbin' for gold — losin' my hol
