Lyrics Page
SIMPLE
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Oct 29, 2026 updated
SIMPLE (feat. Joe L Barnes) - Single album
Verified editorial review
Song Meaning
Childhood daydreams of "fancy cars and a new crib" start the story, and the first verse then admits those pictures "look so much different through a screen." The narrator has been "waking up" to the gap between a curated lifestyle and an actual one, and the pre-chorus refuses to condemn goods outright: "The designer bags are not all bad / But I'll never find my worth in that."
The hook states the trade plainly. No "money, clothes and diamond rings" are needed to be happy, because "all the best things in life are free," so the request is "give me the simple things." The second verse turns from possessions to image. Pressure to "play along and you'll get paid" is met with "I refuse to be a slave," and the speaker settles on a "crooked smile" and "lazy grin," happy to be "the outcast" since "what's popular don't always last."
Hebrews 13:5 and 1 Timothy 6:6-8 speak directly to contentment over money, and Psalm 139:14 supports the self-acceptance in the second verse.
Lyrics Verified by Editorial Team
[Verse 1]
When I was just a kid
I dreamed about the life I'd live
Buy fancy cars and a new crib
And cruise around with all my friends
With all my friends (Where they at, though?)
But I've been waking up
And realizing all those things
Look so much different through a screen
And that type of life ain't what it seems
Isn't what it seems
[Pre-Chorus]
The designer bags are not all bad
But I'll never find my worth in that
[Chorus]
I-I-I don't need
A bunch a money, clothes and diamond rings (Bling-bling)
To be happy
'Cause all the best things in life are free
So give me the simple things
[Verse 2]
People might say
There's a game you gotta play (Wait, what?)
Just play along and you'll get paid (This ain't freeze tag)
But I refuse to be a slave
To be a slave
I'm just gonna be me (Yeah)
Love all the weird things on my skin (Too pretty, too pretty)
My crooked smile, my lazy grin
I'm throwing caution to the wind
To the wind
[Pre-Chorus]
'Cause what's popular don't always last
I'm okay with being the outcast
[Chorus]
I-I-I don't need
A bunch a money, clothes and diamond rings
To be happy
'Cause all the best things in life are free
So give me the simple-
I-I-I don't need
A bunch a money, clothes and diamond rings
To be happy
'Cause all the best things in life are free
So give me the simple things