Put Me In Your Mind

You gotta put me in your mind

When you’re out there

Running around

Trying to figure out

Who’s doing what

You think I don’t know how hard it is?
I know how hard it is

I’ve been running around too

But I got you

I always got you

In my mind

You taking drinks

You taking other things from people
Who are going to show up here one day
Expecting to collect

And who do you think has gotta pay them, huh?

Who do you think

Is going to be coughing up?

Not me, baby

Not me, I got nothing

To cough up

That’s for damn sure

Now, you take the man I buried

He was somebody

Who knew when to keep the door closed

To have me go in the backroom

And let him deal

With the people he owed

I’m not saying he didn’t owe anybody

Because he did

But he either paid them

Or he dealt with them

And either way

I never saw anybody twice

Now he left

And everybody told me

Get with a good man

Well, all right

But here I am

Opening doors

To people

I shouldn’t be seeing

Learning things

I don’t need

To be knowing about

One of your buddies came by here

And I wasn’t even dressed

Did you know that?

Asked if he could come in

So he could wait for you

I said—Do I look stupid?

A man in the house

With a woman

Who’s not even dressed

Where does that go, huh?
Where do you think that goes?

It goes right into you coming home

To find me messing around

Like I don’t know any better

Like I never dated a man

Who gave a damn

Whether or not I was minding myself

But I always am

Because I don’t get put out

And I don’t put nobody out

You can do whatever the hell you want

Just as long as you’re not letting answer doors
And sit around here

Entertaining your friends

When they come by

They’re your friends

I don’t know them

I don’t know anything about them

Or even if they really are your friends

Shit, that boy that day

Could have been coming here

With a gun in his pocket

And if I was some dumb girl

You picked up off Blue Avenue

I might have just let him in here

And offered to get him a drink

Or talk

While I put something on

And all the while

He’d be behind me

Wondering if he should take out just you

Or the both of us

Since having witnesses

Ain’t exactly smart

You’re lucky you’re with me

Because I think of these things

Because I’ve done all this shit before

And when I met you, you were good

And that was nice for me

For a little while

Until good didn’t get my bills paid

And that’s why I had to send you out

Because somebody’s some way has to make sure

The pantry don’t go empty, right?

I know how you feel about me

Because of all that

But you eat too, don’t you?
You go in that pantry late at night

And you see all that food sitting there

And as much as you hate me

You must be thinking to yourself—

Glad I got someone who makes me work

Glad I got someone who’s not just looking

For me to be good

So you just put me in your mind

When you’re out there

And you’ll always come back

You’ll feel like you don’t want to

But you will

Because you’ll know what’s right for you

Not good for you

But right for you

And that’s what makes the difference

If there’s one thing I’m good at

It’s getting somebody back to me

Even when they’d rather

Just keep

Going away