SURVIVAL MODE [Intro: Spoken] Nobody taught me how to live. They taught me how to make it home. [Verse 1] Back in every parking space, eyes on every door Smile don’t mean safe, I done seen that before Keep your voice low, keep your circle even lower Everybody love you till the wind start getting colder Grew up where the sirens sang louder than the choir Where kids learned truth from the smoke and the fire Friends turned ghosts, friends turned numbers Friends got buried, friends did summers Don’t leave your drink, don’t flash your hand Don’t tell your plans to somebody who can’t stand Seeing you climb, seeing you breathe Some people only love you when you bleed [Pre-Chorus] I was twelve when the world got loud Had to grow up fast, couldn’t break down Ain’t paranoia when it kept me alive Ain’t being cold when you’re trained to survive [Chorus] Watch your back Keep your head low Eyes on the door when the room get full Trust come slow Pain come quick Heart got armor, soul got brick Watch your back Don’t move blind Everybody ain’t love, everybody ain’t kind I learned hope in a chokehold Survival mode That’s all I know [Verse 2] Louisville nights, New York pressure Newark taught lessons nobody could measure Boston cold, Texas heat Every place got teeth in the concrete I can work in the crowd if the money right But I don’t go out just to feel the lights Club full of people, I’m counting the exits Laughing outside, inside still checking They call it smart, I called it normal Whole life dressed for an invisible war room I didn’t know peace could feel so strange I thought being safe meant never change [Pre-Chorus] I was twelve when the world got loud Had to grow up fast, couldn’t break down Ain’t paranoia when it kept me alive Ain’t being cold when you’re trained to survive [Chorus] Watch your back Keep your head low Eyes on the door when the room get full Trust come slow Pain come quick Heart got armor, soul got brick Watch your back Don’t move blind Everybody ain’t love, everybody ain’t kind I learned hope in a chokehold Survival mode That’s all I know [Bridge] Don’t stand too close Don’t love too fast Don’t let nobody put your name in the past Don’t cry too long Don’t sleep too deep Don’t let the devil know where you keep peace [Outro: Spoken] Nobody ever taught me how to have fun. Nobody ever taught me how to rest. They taught me how to survive. And I did.
