[Intro] I thought the world had rules, but it turns out it bends, When the poor get clever just to make loose ends, My teachers told me "study," but hunger taught more, Streetlights were the lamps I read under before. [Chorus] My cradle was in a gas station bathroom, I was in and out of shelters more than the classroom, Ode to the poverty surrounding my birth, If only that the meek would inherit the earth. Instead of a bed I was sleeping on the floor, Ode to what life was like, growing up poor. [Verse 1] Money makes this world go round, But as a child, for us, none was found, So we cut corners and did what we could, No mask, no shame, we always understood. By ten I knew all the ghetto and street slang, At thirteen, my buddy was in a street gang. When I was sixteen, I was middle of a date, When he drove up beside in a car with no plate, Stuck his hand out and said "Here's your rate," A wad of crumpled twenties, there were eight, "Thanks for doing all my homework so that I could graduate." [Chorus] My cradle was in a gas station bathroom, I was in and out of shelters more than the classroom, Ode to the poverty surrounding my birth, If only that the meek would inherit the earth. Instead of a bed I was sleeping on the floor, Ode to what life was like, growing up poor. Oh, Ode to what life was like, growing up poor. [Verse 2] It was me and two brothers and an outdated laptop, Middle of the summer in pajamas and a tanktop, Using the neighbor's wifi to pirate some games, Waiting for hours just to play without shame. Two days later, when the file was done, We extract with anxiety just to have some fun, Imagine my surprise when the screen goes black, A virus was inside, man that shit was whack. Somehow we brought it back to how it was before, Just for a friend to drop the damn thing on the floor! [Chorus] My cradle was in a gas station bathroom, I was in and out of shelters more than the classroom, Ode to the poverty surrounding my birth, If only that the meek would inherit the earth. Instead of a bed I was sleeping on the floor, Ode to what life was like, growing up poor. [Verse 3] A stretch of three months I will never forget, When food was a luxury more than cigarettes, A single bowl of rice, no side of protein, Foodstamps cut off, so we had to eat lean, The bile in my stomach burned like a brat, I was a teenager but weighed a hundred flat. Food pantry tomorrow, hope we finally get some meat, Yeah we were poor, but we're not begging in the street. [Chorus] My cradle was in a gas station bathroom, I was in and out of shelters more than the classroom, Ode to the poverty surrounding my birth, If only that the meek would inherit the earth. Instead of a bed I was sleeping on the floor, Ode to what life was like, growing up poor. [Chorus] My cradle was in a gas station bathroom, I was in and out of shelters more than the classroom, Ode to the poverty surrounding my birth, If only that the meek would inherit the earth. Instead of a bed I was sleeping on the floor, Ode to what life was like, growing up poor.
