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  1. Tracks
  2. BANKS
  3. III
  4. Stroke
Stroke by BANKS

TRACK

BANKS

Stroke

Release date: 11th July 2019

From III
Track 4
3:26
AlternativeMusic
Spotify Apple Music More on BANKS

About This Track

'Stroke' cuts through the performance of desire with surgical precision. Banks lays bare the mechanics of ego-feeding, the way intimacy becomes a transaction where one person's need to be wanted eclipses the other's capacity to breathe. The song pivots between accusation and self-awareness, tracing how narcissism corrodes connection from the inside out. Her voice moves between breathy vulnerability and sharp-edged assertion, the production sparse enough to let the lyrical barbs land cleanly. The track builds its case methodically. Banks describes drowning whilst someone else floats, a wound that deepens rather than heals, the exhausting labour of being told what you are instead of being seen. The chorus returns to its central image with a kind of grim inevitability, naming the pattern even as it plays out again. There's no redemption here, only the cold clarity of recognising what's happening and being unable to stop it.

"Stroke" is a track by BANKS, from the album III, released 11th July 2019. The track is 3:26 long. It's filed under Alternative. Full lyrics are available below. Dork has published 12 articles about BANKS.

About the Artist

BANKS

BANKS

Lyrics

Stroke

(You want me, you want me)
(Want me to stroke your ego)
(Beg for it, beg for it)
(I got the touch, placebo)
(Nothin' that you wouldn't do)
(Ride it, get my back in my room)
('Cause that's what narcissists do)
(You want me, you want me)
(Want me to stroke)
Say it's hard to breathe inside my ocean
I gave you the deep, but you're still floating
You would let me drown to save your own life
Don't think I can't see your soul is soaking
It's always in my head
Everything is always about you
You tell me you're a book that I misread
You just wanna tell me what to do, ooh whoa whoa
You want me, you want me
Want me to stroke your ego
Beg for it, beg for it
I got the touch, placebo
Nothin' that you wouldn't do
Ride it, get my back in my room
'Cause that's what narcissists do
You want me, you want me
Want me to stroke
(Stroke)
Girl, the way you moan, you make a symphony
I left it open, the thing got steeper
Even though you wanna be sweet, could call me savory
You tried to wander and the wound got deeper
It's always in my head
'Cause you think it's always about you (you used to think that I'm yours)
You tell me you're a book that I misread (you always said I was your type
(You say you want it down below) you just wanna tell me what to do, ooh whoa oh
(You wanna give it to me right)
Tell me you're so good at it, good at it
You say don't wanna quit, oh you
You say you ran right out of love, out of love
Say you got enough of it for two
Wind it up, keep me waiting
You've been tellin' me that I'm afraid
You will have to do me, baby
You wanna taste my lemonade, yeah
You want me, you want me
Want me to stroke your ego
Beg for it, beg for it
I got the touch, placebo
Nothin' that you wouldn't do
Ride it, get my back in my room
'Cause that's what narcissists do
You want me, you want me
Want me to (stroke)

Lyrics provided by LRCLIB

View full lyrics page →

Track details

From III

3:262019
Listen
Album
III
III
BANKS
12th July 2019
Track number
4
Release year
2019
  1. 1Till Now
    2:36
  2. 2Gimme
    3:39
  3. 3Contaminated
    4:41
  4. 4Stroke
    3:26

More from BANKS

Albums & EPs

Off With Her Head (Deluxe)
Off With Her Head (Deluxe)
2025
Off With Her Head
Off With Her Head
2025
Goddess: Unplugged
Goddess: Unplugged
2024
forevermore
forevermore
2024
Serpentina
Serpentina
2022
Somnolence
Somnolence
2022

Explore

More tracks by BANKS

  1. Love Is UnkindOff With Her Head (Deluxe)
    3:33
  2. Love Is UnkindOff With Her Head
    3:33
  3. With You Around
    3:53
  4. AlibiGoddess: Unplugged
    3:11
  5. Bedroom Wall (Unplugged)Goddess: Unplugged
  6. Best FriendsOff With Her Head (Deluxe)
    4:02
  7. Best FriendsOff With Her Head
    4:02
  8. BrainGoddess: Unplugged
    4:23
  9. CandyOff With Her Head (Deluxe)
    2:44
  10. CandyOff With Her Head
    2:44

Showing 10 of 50

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5Godless
3:10
  • 6Sawzall
    3:40
  • 7Look What You're Doing To Me (feat. Francis and the Lights)
    4:00
  • 8Hawaiian Mazes
    4:03
  • 9Alaska
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    4:05
  • 11The Fall
    2:56
  • 12If We Were Made Of Water
    3:24
  • 13What About Love
    4:18
  • —Contaminated
    4:41
  • Credits

    Production & Engineering

    Writer
    Aron Forbes, BANKS, Tim Anderson, Trey Campbell
    Producer
    BJ Burton
    Engineer
    BJ Burton
    Bass
    BJ Burton, Nick Sanborn
    Drums
    BJ Burton
    Guitar
    BJ Burton
    Assistant Engineer
    Sam Tusa
    Engineered At
    Precious, Minneapolis, Westlake Studios
    Mastering Engineer
    Huntley Miller
    Mixing Engineer
    Brandon Bost, Tom Elmhirst
    Pedal Steel Guitar
    Benjamin Lester
    Programmer
    BJ Burton, Lazerbeak
    Synthesizer
    BJ Burton, Nick Sanborn
    Vocal Producer
    Aron Forbes, BJ Burton, Tim Anderson
    READ MORE ABOUT BANKSREAD MORE ABOUT BANKSREAD MORE ABOUT BANKSREAD MORE ABOUT BANKS
    READ MORE ABOUT BANKSREAD MORE ABOUT BANKSREAD MORE ABOUT BANKSREAD MORE ABOUT BANKS
    Banks has released her new album, 'Serpentina' - stream
    News

    Banks has released her new album, 'Serpentina' - stream

    The record features previously released singles ‘Meteorite’, ‘I Still Love You’, ‘Holding Back’, 'Skinnydipped’ and ‘The Devil’.

    8 Apr 2022 • 6:24 am
    Banks has announced a new set of live dates for later this year
    News

    Banks has announced a new set of live dates for later this year

    Banks has announced a new set of live dates for later this year.

    5 Apr 2022 • 7:28 pm
    Banks has shared a final preview of her new album 'SERPENTINA', 'Meteorite'
    News

    Banks has shared a final preview of her new album 'SERPENTINA', 'Meteorite'

    The full-length is set to arrive this coming Friday (8th April).

    5 Apr 2022 • 9:17 am
    Check out BANKS' new single, 'I Still Love You', six years in the waiting
    News

    Check out BANKS' new single, 'I Still Love You', six years in the waiting

    "“I’ve held this song tight for over six years. It felt like a secret I wanted to keep just for myself. But I finally feel not only ready but so excited to share this with the world."

    21 Mar 2022 • 4:30 pm
    BANKS is dropping another new track next week, 'I Still Love You'
    News

    BANKS is dropping another new track next week, 'I Still Love You'

    The latest taster of new album 'SERPENTINA', she's previewed the track with a snippet shared to social media.

    19 Mar 2022 • 11:19 am
    Banks: “My music is my religion”
    News

    Banks: “My music is my religion”

    Transformation, empowerment and why music is Banks' religion.

    30 Sept 2016 • 8:13 am