Lyrics Page
What It's Like
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Oct 7, 2026 updated
SORRY, I CHANGED album
Verified editorial review
Song Meaning
Aaron Cole opens “What It's Like” with a mantra, “Change is inevitable / Growth is optional,” then spends three verses explaining why listeners who weren't there can't fully feel it. The first looks back at selling albums to classmates, burning CDs “'cause we didn't have much,” and dreaming from the pews about who he would become.
The second verse gets heavier: people who see him as “a come up,” a late-night call with “the worst news of my life,” and grief carried quietly because “I got people counting on me so I act like I'm fine.” In the third he owns his regrets, including not being there for his little sister “when she needed me the most,” and names pride as “one of my flaws,” asking “what's the point of gaining the world if you losing your soul?”
That question paraphrases Mark 8:36, while the admission about applause echoes Proverbs 16:18 on pride, and Psalm 34:18, with the Lord near the brokenhearted, fits the grief in the middle verse. Faith stays in the background of the writing, surfacing in a few lines rather than a chorus of praise.
Lyrics Verified by Editorial Team
(Yeah)
Change is inevitable
Growth is optional
You don't feel me though
[Spoken]
You wasn't there, you don't know what it was like
[Chorus]
Woah, you don't know
You don't know what it's...
You don't know what it's like
(Yeah)
And you don't feel me
I swear that you don't feel me
No, no
You don't know
You don't know what it's...
You don't know what it's like
(Nah)
Hey, you don't feel me
I swear that you don't feel me
No, no
[Verse 1]
I was big time but I wasn't in a rush
Selling albums to the kids on my lunch
Burning CDs 'cause we didn't have much
I'm the don so address me as such
Was on the clock, dreamed about what I'd become
Yeah, I was up in the pews, had to trip it on loop
I knew I was standing out, now look my life is the proof
I never made the Dean's list, had dreams to play for Dean Smith
Always stayed ten toes, could never let my feet slip
[Chorus]
(Yeah)
You don't know
You don't know what it's...
You don't know what it's like
And you don't feel me
I swear that you don't feel me
No, no
You don't know
You don't know what it's...
You don't know what it's like
(Nah)
Hey, you don't feel me
I swear that you don't feel me
No, no
[Verse 2]
What you know about the come up?
Give your all to a person, they just see you as a come up
They want it overnight so they gone before the sun up
To sum up, they was at in my pockets just trying to one up
You know what it's like to get that call late in the night?
Rolled over, rub my eyes, the worst news of my life
Lost another loved one, carrying all this grief up inside
But I got people counting on me so I act like I'm fine
But...
[Chorus]
You don't know
You don't know what it's...
You don't know what it's like
(Yeah)
And you don't feel me
I swear that you don't feel me
No, no
You don't know
You don't know what it's...
You don't know what it's like
(Nah)
Hey, you don't feel me
I swear that you don't feel me
No, no
[Verse 3]
My pen shot again but it ain't work
I ain't about to sit and lie like it ain't hurt
But they still be in the crowd wearing the merch
Work to see the family fuels, never seen to come with perks
I try not to take the blame when I reminisce
But it's hard when I wasn't there for my little sis
When she needed me the most, really put her on hold
But what's the point of gaining the world if you losing your soul?
Like, whatever call right, the words are like sunlight
You just step outside and then it hit you like, "Oh, right."
Pride is just one of my flaws
Maybe I'd be further along if I ain't care about applause
They never gave me a yay, I just took the mic swiftly
This was tailored, ain't ask, it was just in me
Was singing in the backyard, can see us at the Wrigley's
And it was empty, I'm just as cold as my wrist be
[Chorus]
But you don't know
You don't know what it's...
You don't know what it's like
(Nah)
(Yeah)
And you don't feel me
(Look)
I swear that you don't feel me
No, no
You don't know
You don't know what it's...
You don't know what it's like
(Yeah)
Hey, you don't feel me
I swear that you don't feel me
No, no