Ink Don’t Bleed

[Verse 1: Watsky]
Some got hits about the racks that they earn
Say, there's Benjamins and Jacksons in their pockets to burn
But when they shoot the video, producers pass around a bucket
Full of rented jewelry for them to rock and return
I know a straight edge rapper who acts like a sheep herder
A vegan on the mic, who's screaming that meat's murder
But when everybody's sleeping, he be creeping
Slugging back the whiskey, hating himself and sneaking a cheeseburger
There's a pop idol at the top of the charts
And when her record's being cut, she's on the beach in St. Bart's
While a session singer, who didn't have the face to make it
Signs a nondisclosure agreement and belts out her parts
It's hard, 'cause I got bars that are big-uppin' Woody Allen
But maybe he's a predator who's digging in his talons
There's a balance, and often I don't know how to feel
In a fake and tainted world, seek the real

[Chorus: Anderson .Paak]
Now, I can't change the past, but
A man's gotta man up
It's hard to believe, tch
Sometimes, I get the best of me
Now, I'm doing what I can, but
I'm a man, not a damn chump
I can say it if you need
But I'd rather let the ink bleed

[Verse 2: Watsky]
We dismiss our heroes' skeletons, no matter how grim
My fans saying, "I'd be honored to be injured by him"
Well, fam', this branch is thin, but I'll go out on a limb
To say she didn't love her ulna poking out of her skin
Being pumped full of morphine and tied to machines
They cut off my jeans, I heard her in the ambulance scream
She's in school to do tattoos and might've had nerve damage
So it could've cost a girl a chance at her dream
Meanwhile, he pops painkillers until the dude is numb
Knew I was a stupidass, just not that I'm a ruthless one
Youth is easily influenced, so should you be rooting for me
If I touch a thousand lives, but on the way, I ruin some?
The rule of thumb is "All publicity is your advantage"
But human lives are not collateral damage
Bandage the wounded, then vanish, blank as the newest of canvases
When they zoom in the cameras, give them the truth

[Chorus: Anderson .Paak]
Now, I can't change the past, but
A man's gotta man up
It's hard to believe, tch
Sometimes, I get the best of me
Now, I'm doing what I can, but
I'm a man, not a damn chump
I can say it if you need
But I'd rather let the ink bleed

[Verse 3: Watsky]
Megachurch leaders sleeping with male hookers
Mayors hitting crack pipes with their cookers
Each week, a crooked politician gets caught
We're not shocked when they're cheaters — these days, we're shocked when they're not
Are they the person you thought if they're perfect and hot?
Often, we blame the victim, scoffing "They deserve what they got"
Actors sweep it under the rug and resume with the plot
But they're amateurs, and we can see the boom in the shot
If perception is reality, then this could be a shocker
I've done my share of fucked-up things that didn't get on Gawker
Lots of tiny indiscretions way beyond the public eye
That, if you saw, would probably out me as a complicated guy
Mike says you got to separate the person from the art
But if the art's about that person, you can't pull 'em apart
So you better watch the choices that you're making now, because
They aren't something that matter, they're the only thing that does

[Refrain: Watsky]
Everything they say conflicts with everything I do
But I must admit I did it, so I guess it might be true
Everything they say conflicts with everything I do
But I must admit I did it, so I guess it might be true
Everything they say conflicts with everything I do
But I must admit I did it, so I guess it might be true
Everything they say conflicts with everything I do
But I must admit I did it, so I guess it might be true