[Intro – 8 bars, instrumental only] [Lonely warped glass-key melody] [Distant chopped male vocal textures] [Low sub-bass slowly enters] [Sparse broken percussion, wide atmospheric space] [No lead vocals yet] [Verse 1 – Low, intimate rap] [Slow pocket, unhurried phrasing, leave space] Thirteen. First bell hadn't even rung. Life was already changing, And I ain't even begun. Past-due bills in a drawer, Rent ads across the page. One showed what was broken, One showed where we'd stay. Then they sat us down. My brother next to me. Four people in that room, Three of us about to leave. The house still had a roof, But home didn't feel the same. Dad had a place of his own, We had a whole new way. Two bedrooms downtown, High school on the horizon. Too young to make sense of it, Too old to keep hiding. [Instrumental pause – 2 bars] [Warped keys and low bass, no drums] [Pre-Chorus – Half-spoken, building tension] New school, new rules, Tryna find where I stand. Somewhere in the confusion I started telling myself... [Chorus – Low melodic rap refrain] [Deep broken beat, aching vocal, not polished pop] Now it's time to grow up And be the man... Say it like I got a plan, Like I understand. But how am I supposed to know How to be a man? When the man of the house Wasn't there to show me how? [Beat cuts] Show me how... I was thirteen. Somebody show me how. [Instrumental – 4 bars] [Warped vocal chop, detuned glass keys] [Sub-bass bends, scattered percussion] [Verse 2 – More rhythmic, restrained anger] [Short phrases, shifting cadence, natural grit] Bus window. Head down. New blocks sliding by. Knew the route to school, Couldn't tell 'em why. Friends had their own lives, From the outside, looking fine. I had a truth in my pocket I kept folded up inside. "We moved." Full stop. That's the story they knew. Kept Dad's drinking out the picture, Couldn't keep it out the truth. Didn't want that label Following my name. Didn't want his battle To become my shame. Mom had two boys to raise, Money didn't stretch far. I had to work for what I wanted, Learned early what things cost. Could earn a little freedom, Couldn't earn the old days back. Started acting like I'm grown While I was still learning that. [Instrumental break – 2 bars] [Drums disappear, bass remains] [Pre-Chorus 2 – Almost spoken] Everybody growing up... Guess I had to grow up too. But who was gonna show me What a man was supposed to do? [Chorus – Darker, more emotional] [Heavy sub-bass, broken drums, restrained male doubles] Now it's time to grow up And be the man... Say it like I got a plan, Like I understand. But how am I supposed to know How to be a man? When the man of the house Wasn't there to show me how? [Short silence] Show me how... I was thirteen. Somebody show me how. [Instrumental Interlude – 8 bars] [Beat dissolves into warped keys and ambient textures] [Distant wordless male vocal fragments] [Slowly introduce a new muted pulse] [Verse 3 – Reflective, quieter rap] [Less percussion, conversational delivery] Then came rehab. For a minute, That word sounded like hope. Like maybe what was broken Didn't have to stay broke. If he got sober, If the change was real, Maybe Mom could trust again. Maybe we could heal. Nobody promised nothing. I just needed to believe. Kept turning "if" to "when" In the future I could see. Angry at the drinking, Still wanted my dad. Both things could be true. I was learning that. Didn't know the road ahead, Didn't know how far he'd fall. Back then I still believed We might get it back after all. [Bridge – Adult perspective] [Almost complete silence, sparse Rhodes] [Dry close-mic vocal, slow and vulnerable] Years later, I hear that kid again. Talking like he's ready. Talking like a man. But those bills weren't his, That bottle wasn't his. Still, both rode with him to school, Nobody knew they did. [Long pause] He wasn't trying to be tough. He was trying to understand. I was trying to be the man... I was thirteen. I still needed one. [Final Chorus – Quietly powerful, aching delivery] [Broken beat returns, glass keys and deep warm bass] [Natural grit, no triumphant lift] Now it's time to grow up And be the man... I can still hear myself Trying to understand. How was I supposed to know How to be a man? When the man of the house Wasn't there to show me how? [Drums disappear] Show me how... [Outro – 8 bars] [Warped glass keys, distant pitched male vocal] [No drums, unresolved harmony] I was thirteen. Still thought you'd come back. Still thought we had time. [Instrumental fade] [End]
