[Verse 1]
I could be a soldier, a hero with a purple heart
I could be a kid that grew up
Without a fighting chance from the start
I could be a teacher, a PhD from an Ivy League
I could be a mother or a father
Someone's son or someone's daughter
[Chorus]
What you can read on this cardboard sign
Is a story of a broken life
Still got dreams, still got hopes
Even though they're running low
You don't see everything that I lost
How much it hurts, yeah, and what it all cost
I ain't asking, "Why, God? Why?"
I'm just praying I'll get by
But you're gonna see what you wanna see
If you're only looking skin deep
[Post-Chorus]
Ooh-ooh-ooh
[Verse 2]
Might've made a couple wrong turns
Might be playing with the hand I was dealt
You might see see me on the corner
And think I don't deserve no help
But if you walk in my shoes for a minute
Not from the outside, but right here in it
You would see we ain't that different
Ain't that different, no
[Chorus]
What you can read on this cardboard sign
Is a story of a broken life
Still got dreams, still got hopes
Even though they're running low
You don't see everything that I lost
How much it hurts, yeah, and what it all cost
I ain't asking, "Why, God? Why?"
I'm just praying I'll get by
But you're gonna see what you wanna see
If you're only looking skin deep, oh-oh
[Post-Chorus]
Skin deep, oh-oh-oh
[Bridge]
Yeah, we all need a hand sometimes
A second chance to get it right
And I hope you know the next time you pass by
[Chorus]
What you can read on this cardboard sign
Is a story of a broken life
Still got dreams, still got hopes
Even though they're running low
You don't see everything that I lost
How much it hurts, yeah, and what it all cost
I ain't asking, "Why, God? Why?"
I'm just praying I'll get by
But you're gonna see what you wanna see
If you're only looking skin deep
[Outro]
Woah, woah, skin deep
Mm