Past Like A Mask

I was told to be a man was build defences strong
 Keep your woman in her place and she'll keep hangin' on
 Now I've grown to realise my life's been filled with lies
 A tread I've been hangin' on has broken in her eyes
 If I could let my heart be known in spite walls so high
 I might taste those bitter tears that I've never learned to cry
 But I've got a paast like a mask
 And I can see it in her face, the many years I can't erase
 A broken heart I can't replace in spite of what I try
 But I've got a pa-ast like a mask
 And I sure took my time to understand
 When I was young, not long ago, I hid my feelings well
 Sometimes I let my heartaches show but I could never tell
 And now I find I've been blind, insensitive and vain
 Cause someone told me long ago "ignore a woman's pain"
 If I could change the fool I've been, I know just what'd do
 I'd give her everything I can and make all her dreams come true
 But I've got a past like a mask
 And I can see it in her eyes, the lonely nights, the endless lies
 The countless time I made her cry when she was by my side
 And I've got a past like a mask
 And I sure took my time to understand