Cell Block To Beachfront

[Verse 1] Plastic fork dinners Floor cold, midsummer Mom gone, dad ghost Fridge light, no supper Learned quick Keep your jaw tight, eyes sharp Hand-me-down anger Tucked deep in his heart Backblock birthdays Candles were the cop cars Fighting just to hold On to who they all are Little CB With the too-big coat Said “if it come to it I stand on my own” Fast forward Wrong crew, wrong turn Fast cash, fast talk Slow lesson to learn Steel doors slam Echo like a death chant State boots, thin mat Fear in every breath and— He wrote in the margins Every long night “I ain’t tryna die here I’m tryna rewrite” [Chorus] From the cell block to the beachfront From the chain-link to the key front door Had to lose years just to restart Now he’s got love he’d trade nothing for From the tear-stained to the clean sheets From that hard cot to her soft small snore CB and Ariel, two hearts Living like they never been poor (never been poor) [Verse 2] Met her on a visit Glass thick, heart thin Her laugh cut through All the metal and sin Ariel With the sun in her smile Hands on the phone Like she closing the miles She said “you ain’t what they wrote On that page, boy You more than that number In that cage, boy” Letters like lifelines Ink-stained hope He’d trace every curve Like a prayer, like a rope Calendar scars X’s on a steel wall He’d whisper her name Every count, every roll call Gate buzz open Bag with his whole life Bus ride humming Future holding on tight She waiting at the station Old hoodie, new light Eyes say “I got you” Before “hi” or “you all right?” [Chorus] From the cell block to the beachfront From the chain-link to the key front door Had to lose years just to restart Now he’s got love he’d trade nothing for From the tear-stained to the clean sheets From that hard cot to her soft small snore CB and Ariel, two hearts Living like they never been poor (yeah) [Bridge] Air mattress kingdom Two plates, one pan Laughing in the dark With a half-broke fan Bills on the counter Dreams on the wall “If the world get cold We just pull in close” (come close) He still flinch at sirens Still count steps in the yard She kiss every scar ‘Til it feel like art [Chorus] From the cell block to the beachfront From the chain-link to the key front door Had to lose years just to restart Now he’s got love he’d trade nothing for From the bus stop to the beach house From them steel toes to his feet in the shore CB and Ariel, two hearts Living life like time ain’t theirs no more From the cell block to the beachfront Every sunrise something he fights for Hand in hand, yeah, they walk free That’s a rich man, sleeping on the floor (on the floor)