Still Learning

[Intro – bare synth loop, distant texture] Yeah... Funny, innit? When you're young, you think grown-ups know what they're doing. Then you become one. Mad. [Verse 1 – relaxed UK MC] I thought by now I'd have life on lock, Money all sorted, nice little spot, Wake up early, know what's what, Turns out, mate, absolutely not. Still lose keys when they're in my hand, Still make choices without a plan, Still say "five minutes" then take half an hour, Still check my bank like, "Allow it, how?" But I've learnt things that school never taught, Who stays close when the road gets rough, Who's all chat when you're doing alright, Then nowhere to find when you're having a night. Getting older ain't knowing it all, It's knowing sometimes you're gonna fall, Dust yourself down when you hit that wall— Still don't know everything. That's calm. [Hook 1] Still learning. Still getting by. Still say "I'm good" When I'm asking myself why. No instruction book. No perfect plan. Just doing what I can With the man I am. [Verse 2 – drums harder] Used to think thirty sounded well old, Now man's here like, "Who moved the goal?" Back hurts weird when the weather gets cold, And staying in Friday sounds better than roads. Mates got kids, got bills, got stress, Group chat dead till somebody says, "Remember that night?" Then everyone's blessed, Twenty old pictures and absolute mess. Some went left and some went right, Some I ain't spoken to time after time, But that's how it goes when you're living your life, Not every friendship survives every mile. No bad blood, no need for a scene, Sometimes people just leave your routine, Wish 'em the best, keep memories clean— Growing apart Don't make either one mean. [Hook 2] Same old me, Different days. Couple more scars, Couple less mates. Still got love For the roads I came, But man's moved forward. Can't stay the same. [Verse 3 – nostalgic MC flow] I remember when twenty quid felt like bread, Ten on a night and a tenner till next, Bus pass folded inside my creps, No Uber home, mate—night bus instead. MP3 player with tunes downloaded, Half had names that were wrongly coded, One earphone worked, other one broken, Still had riddims and that's what mattered. Man would stand outside just chatting for hours, No one filming, no chasing clout, If beef kicked off, word travelled about, Before everybody had somewhere to shout. Not saying those days were better than these, Rose-tinted glasses distort what you see, But sometimes I miss how simple it'd be— Just mates, One riddim, And somewhere to be. [Hook 3] Take me back? Nah. Maybe for a night. Let me see those roads Under orange streetlights. Then bring me home When the morning comes, 'Cause I miss those days— But I ain't twenty-one. [Verse 4 – reflective, melody stripped back] I've made mistakes that I can't undo, Said wrong things to the right people too, Trusted some that I shouldn't have trusted, Ignored good advice 'cause I thought I knew. That's life though, innit? You learn too late, Get the right answer after the date, Spend years blaming yourself for mistakes Made by a version of you that changed. So I'm trying to give that bloke some slack, He didn't know what I know looking back, Man had weight he didn't know how to pack, Still kept moving with bricks on his back. Wouldn't repeat half the choices I made, But wouldn't delete every mark that they gave, 'Cause every wrong turn, every shit little phase— Put something useful In who I am today. [Hook 4] No rewind. No second take. Can't go back And correct mistakes. Take what hurt. Take what worked. Keep moving forward— Still learning. [Verse 5 – confident finish] So nah, I ain't got this life all cracked, Still overthink, still double-text back, Still buy stuff then regret that fact, Still tell myself, "Next month I'll save." Yeah. Course you will, mate. But I've got people I'd fight to keep, Got music playing when I can't find peace, Got food in the fridge and somewhere to sleep, That's more than younger me thought I'd see. I don't need millions to call that wealth, Don't need strangers approving myself, Don't need pretending I'm somebody else, Took long enough just accepting myself. Maybe that's what getting older means, Less worried about how everything seems, More about building a life underneath— Still making mistakes. Still chasing dreams. Still taking hits. Still finding my feet. Still learning... And that's alright with me. [Final Hook] STILL LEARNING. Still getting by. Still got questions. Still gonna try. No instruction book. No master plan. Just another year Understanding this man. STILL LEARNING. That's alright. Still got fire When the riddim sounds right. If growing means I've got more left to see— Keep teaching life. I'm listening. [Outro – synth loop continues] Yeah... Still learning. Probably always will be. Safe.