(Intro) Yeah… stepping back outside the gates. Sun’s shining too bright, man. The air feels different. Too open. Look at these streets… concrete palm trees. Nothin’ like the yard. (Breathe in, breathe out… let’s take it back.) (Verse 1) Steel doors slide back, and they handed me a bag Fifteen years gone, packed in a plastic rag Walking down the boulevard, the heat hit my face Trying to find my footing in a unfamiliar place They talkin’ 'bout the future, man, I'm stuck in the past Got a burner phone that’s ringing and a budget that won’t last Every car that rolls by got me looking at the glass Paranoia heavy, shadow moving fast Used to count the hours by the ticking of the lock Now I'm staring at a clock, standing frozen on the block Looking down the avenue, everything's so fake Surrounded by concrete palm trees, man, what a mistake. (Chorus) From the tier to the block, now I’m back on the street With the weight of the world heavy under my feet Got the ghosts of my past calling out in the wind Wish I could turn back time before I let the devil in Yeah, the free world cold, and the money running low Miss the brothers in the yard, but I got nowhere to go. (Verse 2) Try to fill out a application, checking that box Felon status hanging heavy like a pair of lead socks The manager looked at me, didn’t even say a word Just handed back the paper, man, it’s all so absurd They preach rehabilitation, but they close every door Leaving ex-cons drowning on a concrete floor I remember sitting chow hall, laughing with the crew Talking 'bout the things that we swore we’d never do Now Big Mike is doing life and Little Tre’s in the hole And I'm out here selling pieces of my shattered soul Regret is a heavy blanket in the middle of the night Wondering if redemption is a losing kind of fight (Chorus) From the tier to the block, now I’m back on the street With the weight of the world heavy under my feet Got the ghosts of my past calling out in the wind Wish I could turn back time before I let the devil in Yeah, the free world cold, and the money running low Miss the brothers in the yard, but I got nowhere to go. (Verse 3) Walked past the liquor store where it all went down That foolish summer night that changed my whole hometown A stupid little score for a bag of quick cash Turned a bright young future into history and ash If I could trade the years, if I could take it back I’d have walked away clean, never jumped upon that track Now my momma looking at me with tears in her eyes Trying to put a smile on, masking all the sighs She sees the empty spirit in her oldest son Knowing that the damage and the damage done is done Underneath the synthetic shade, feeling so alone In a city full of strangers where I used to be the grown. (Bridge) Can you hear me, homies? Can you hear the call? From inside the perimeter to standing at the wall? They said freedom was the prize, but it feels like a cage Just a different kind of prison on a different-colored page Oh, brothers on the inside, keep your spirits high While I'm out here trying not to crumble and die… (Verse 4) Sunrise over Compton, but it looks like night Every shadow that I'm chasing is a losing fight Gotta find a way to pivot, gotta stay on my square Even when the air is heavy and there's nobody there For every brother still locked down behind the wire I’m gonna keep my head up, keep fueling this fire I own the choice I made, I accept the bitter pill Gonna carve a path forward by the sheer force of will From the concrete palm trees to the end of the line I'm surviving this world one painful day at a time. (Chorus) From the tier to the block, now I’m back on the street With the weight of the world heavy under my feet Got the ghosts of my past calling out in the wind Wish I could turn back time before I let the devil in Yeah, the free world cold, and the money running low Miss the brothers in the yard, but I got nowhere to go. (Outro) Yeah. Dedicated to everybody trying to make it home. Keep your head up. Don’t look back.
