Nobody Saw - Single by Soléma

[Intro — Spoken softly over bass guitar and flute]

Everybody sees the children when they’re grown.
Everybody sees the accomplishments,
the smiles, the moments that turned out right…

But nobody saw what it took to get them there.

Sometimes one person did the work
that was meant for two.

And somehow…
they kept going.

This song is for you. 

⸻

[Verse 1]

Nobody saw you count that money
At the kitchen table late at night
Figuring which bill could wait till Friday
Trying to make a little stretch just right

Nobody saw you put it back
Something you wanted from the store
‘Cause somebody needed shoes for school
So you said, “I don’t need it anymore”

Nobody saw the tired in your body
After working all day long
Walk through the door and hear, “I need you”
And somehow you still carried on

You made dinner, checked the homework
Listened like you hadn’t worked at all
Held everybody else together
With nobody there to catch your fall

⸻

[Pre-Chorus]

They saw you standing
They never saw you shake
They saw what you provided
Never knew what it would take

You weren’t made to carry
Every burden on your own
But love kept saying, “Get back up”
Every time you felt alone

⸻

[Chorus]

Nobody saw you crying
When everybody went to sleep
Nobody saw you staring at the ceiling
With promises you had to keep

Nobody saw the sacrifice
Every time you went without
They only saw you make it happen
Never knew what it took out

You did the work of two
With just one pair of hands
And even when you didn’t know how
Somehow you found a way again

So this one’s for the ones
Who raised a family on their own

I see you…

Even if nobody saw.

⸻

[Verse 2]

Nobody saw the invitations
You turned down and stayed at home
‘Cause there wasn’t anybody you could call
And you couldn’t leave those babies alone

Nobody saw the lonely moments
Watching everybody else move free
While your whole world lived inside that house
Depending on you for everything

And people always had an opinion
When they heard you raised them by yourself
Like somehow being there alone
Meant you must’ve brought it on yourself

They never asked what really happened
Never walked one mile inside your shoes
It’s easy judging from the outside
When you never had to choose

Between your wants and what they needed
Between your rest and one more shift
Between falling down completely
And finding something more to give

⸻

[Pre-Chorus]

They saw you standing
They never saw you shake
They saw what you provided
Never knew what it would take

You weren’t made to carry
Every burden on your own
But love kept saying, “Get back up”
Every time you felt alone

⸻

[Chorus]

Nobody saw you crying
When everybody went to sleep
Nobody saw you staring at the ceiling
With promises you had to keep

Nobody saw the sacrifice
Every time you went without
They only saw you make it happen
Never knew what it took out

You did the work of two
With just one pair of hands
And even when you didn’t know how
Somehow you found a way again

So this one’s for the ones
Who raised a family on their own

I see you…

Even if nobody saw.

⸻

[Verse 3 — Bass, Rhodes and flute]

Nobody saw the lists inside your head
The things you couldn’t dare forget
Appointments, meals and school tomorrow
And somehow you kept track of it

Nobody saw you lying there
Too tired to sleep, too wired to rest
Thinking ten steps into morning
While your body begged for less

Nobody saw the fear you carried
Wondering if you’d done enough
Wondering how you’d face tomorrow
When today had been so rough

Nobody saw you find the strength
To smile before they woke again
Put your worries in the background
And become their safe place then

Nobody saw the thousand choices
Made before the day was through
All the little ways you disappeared
So they could make it safely through

⸻

[Bridge — Vocal builds]

Mother…

I see you.

Father…

I see you.

Grandma raising babies
When you thought your raising days were through…

I see you.

Granddad holding down that household…

I see you.

Auntie…
Uncle…
Big sister…
Big brother…

Family friend who stepped in
When somebody had to…

I see you.

You didn’t have all the answers.

You didn’t always get it right.

But you stayed.

You worked.

You sacrificed.

You loved.

And when giving up would’ve been easier…

You didn’t.

⸻

[Final Chorus — Full R&B groove]

Nobody saw you crying
When everybody went to sleep
Nobody saw how many promises
You were fighting hard to keep

Nobody saw the sacrifice
Or everything you went without
They only saw you make it happen
Never knew what it took out

You did the work of two
With one heart and two tired hands
And every morning you got up
And somehow found the strength again

So this one’s for the ones
Who raised a family on their own

You deserve your flowers
For every seed you’ve ever sown

And if nobody ever told you
After everything you’ve been through…

I see you.

We see you.

You kept that whole world moving
When the weight was all on you.

⸻

[Outro — Bass guitar and flute]