Who They Don’t Have To Treat

[Intro] You learn a lot at the table Where the lights don’t reach the floor Where help comes with a handle And love stands by the door [V1] I used to think that kindness Was the thing that people were Till I saw it turn conditional When the debt was transferred A roof can be a shelter Or a lock above your head A meal can be a mercy Or a sentence being read They said it sounded caring They said it sounded right But every hand they offered Had a string pulled tight And I learned the oldest lesson In the quietest kind of hell You can tell a lot about someone By who they don’t have to treat well [Hook] Someone they don’t have to treat well Someone with nowhere to go Someone whose truth can be doubted Someone whose pain can be owned When kindness would have cost them nothing But they chose the harder spell You can tell a lot about someone By who they don’t have to treat well [V2] They called the leash protection They called the silence peace They called the threat concern And called obedience release They could have made it softer They could have let me stand They could have told the whole truth Without holding back their hand They could have lowered the pressure They could have opened the gate They could have kept my name clean When they talked outside my face But power shows its shadow Where consequence gets thin And the people saying “family” Can still choose who pays for sin [Hook] Someone they don’t have to treat well Someone with nowhere to go Someone whose truth can be doubted Someone whose pain can be owned When kindness would have cost them nothing But they chose the harder spell You can tell a lot about someone By who they don’t have to treat well [Bridge] It wasn’t always shouting It wasn’t always rage Sometimes cruelty whispers From a reasonable cage Sometimes it says, “We love you” Sometimes it says, “Be still” Sometimes it says, “You made us” Sometimes it says, “We will” And if you need their mercy They may call that proof of blame They can burn your only bridge Then ask why you’re in the flame [V3] I don’t need a perfect story I don’t need a spotless past I just know who held the hammer When the windows turned to glass I know who had the leverage I know who had the room I know who could have helped me And chose to press the wound That’s where character gets honest Not the speeches people sell But the moment they have power Over someone in the well And I learned to read the weather In the house before it fell You can tell a lot about someone By who they don’t have to treat well [Final Hook] Someone they don’t have to treat well Someone with nowhere to go Someone whose truth can be doubted Someone whose pain can be owned When kindness would have cost them nothing But they chose the harder spell You can tell a lot about someone By who they don’t have to treat well [Outro] Decency is clearest When no one makes you choose When you could have used the power But had the grace not to So I carry what it taught me Like a bell I cannot still You can tell a lot about someone By who they’re free to kill [Soft Outro Revision / Repeat] You can tell a lot about someone By who they’re free to break By the mercy they withhold When there’s mercy they could make