While I Was Smiling

[Verse 1]

I learned to smile before I learned to swim

Held every hand while the water climbed my chin

I carried all your storms like they were mine to keep

I sang you all to shore, then I sank down deep

[Pre]

They called me strong, so they stopped looking

Nobody sees a lighthouse sinking

[Chorus]

You saw me drowning while I was smiling

Everybody else just cheered, you came

You never said I'm strong, you said my name

You saw me drowning while I was smiling

[Verse 2]

I broke apart on your kitchen floor at three

Ten years of holding back the tide came down on me

You didn't fix me, you just sat down in the flood

And let me be the one who needed love

[Chorus]

You saw me drowning while I was smiling

Everybody else just cheered, you came

You never said I'm strong, you said my name

You saw me drowning while I was smiling

[Bridge]

I thought love was something I paid for with my breath

Pulling everybody out and never asking for rest

You pulled me out and never asked for a thing

I'm learning how to be held without counting what I bring

[Final Chorus]

You saw me drowning while I was smiling

Everybody else just cheered, you came

You never said I'm strong, you said my name

Now I'm not drowning, and I'm not smiling