[Verse 1 – slow burn, blues guitar or steel under tone]
He used to run from shadows he called his past,
Outdrove the pain, but the silence always lasts.
Built from dust, from scratch, from fights he didn’t start,
Stacked years on years just to patch a broken heart.
The road was never straight, and the wins were never clean,
But there’s a kind of truth you only find between
The nights you almost gave up,
And the mornings you still rose.
That’s the part the world don’t see —
But the mirror knows.
[Chorus – warm, steady, proud but humble]
The mirror don’t lie — it don’t play pretend.
It shows the cracks, the cuts, the times you had to bend.
The mirror don’t lie — and it don’t look away.
It tells you what’s real at the end of the day.
Ain’t about bein’ perfect. Ain’t about bein’ right.
It’s about standin’ tall when the wind wants a fight.
He’s still here, still breathin’, still dryin’ his eyes…
And the man in the mirror? He don’t lie.
[Verse 2 – reflective, wiser tone, gravel in the delivery]
He tried on different names, wore other people’s shoes,
Tried to fix what broke him with somebody else’s truth.
But peace don’t come from fakin’ who you ain’t —
It comes when you forgive the man beneath the paint.
Used to wish for a restart, a clean, wide road —
Now he just thanks the potholes for the strength they showed.
The path ain’t long like it used to be,
But it’s his to walk, and that’s finally free.
[Bridge – quiet, then building with heartbeat rhythm]
It’s a hard thing, facin’ your own face.
But when you do…
You find grace.
[Final Chorus – full vocal stack, proud and rooted]
The mirror don’t lie — it don’t care 'bout fame.
It just reflects the man who stayed in the game.
The mirror don’t lie — it don’t hide the lines.
It shows the cost of livin' and the beauty in time.
He’s still flawed, still real, still holdin’ his ground…
Still worth every mile, every time he fell down.
You can lie to the world, but you can't to your eyes…
And the mirror? That mirror don’t lie.
[Outro – stripped back, one final guitar note under the last line]
It don’t lie.
And for once…
That’s a comfort.
BrandonJamesBand
