Dreams Don't Die

[Intro] Mama counted coins beneath the kitchen light I learned a dream can live through a hungry night [Verse 1] We kept the heat low, blankets on the chair You hid the worry like it wasn't there I saw the overdue notices beside the bread Still you kissed my forehead, put courage in my head One pair of sneakers, holes along the side I walked through winter with my future as my guide Friends took the shortcut, I stayed with the ache Every small refusal was a promise I would make I wrote my first verse on the back of a bill While the whole apartment settled quiet and still You said, "Don't let a hard year tell you who you are" So I carried your sentence like a map toward the stars [Chorus] Dreams don't die when the room goes dark They keep one small fire underneath the heart If I fall, I rise with the weight I knew Every road I survived leads me back to you Dreams don't die, they bend, they wait They grow through the cracks in a rusted gate I may lose sleep, I may lose time But I won't leave this life without making it mine [Verse 2] I missed birthdays chasing shifts across town Told my little brother, "I'll make you proud somehow" He drew a crooked stage in a notebook blue Put my name in the middle, said, "This one's for you" I learned sacrifice ain't noble when it's neat It's cold coffee, sore feet, and defeat on repeat It's calling home with a voice that sounds strong Then sitting in the stairwell when the call is gone But the bills got paid by the strength in your hands And the fear got smaller when I started to stand I don't need a miracle falling from the sky I need one more morning and a reason to try [Pre-Chorus] Every closed door taught my knuckles how to knock Every no became a brick inside the block I can hear the old doubt breathing at my side But the child I was still refuses to hide [Chorus] Dreams don't die when the room goes dark They keep one small fire underneath the heart If I fall, I rise with the weight I knew Every road I survived leads me back to you Dreams don't die, they bend, they wait They grow through the cracks in a rusted gate I may lose sleep, I may lose time But I won't leave this life without making it mine [Bridge] If the ceiling caves, I will build outside If the well runs dry, I will walk for miles If the world says stop, let it say it twice I have paid for this hope with a thousand nights [Verse 3] Now the same old block hears the bass through the walls Little kids look up when they see posters fall I tell them, "Keep your name when the money gets thin Don't trade your whole soul just to look like you win" I brought my brother backstage, handed him the pass He wore that notebook drawing like a photograph Mama in the front row, tears beneath her smile Every empty cupboard made this moment worthwhile I still have hard days, still question the climb Still measure my courage one breath at a time But success ain't the glass or the room full of praise It's giving back the light that carried me through haze [Final Chorus] Dreams don't die when the room goes dark They keep one small fire underneath the heart If I fall, I rise with the weight I knew Every road I survived leads me back to you Dreams don't die, they bend, they wait They grow through the cracks in a rusted gate I may lose sleep, I may lose time But I won't leave this life without making it mine [Outro] Mama, the lights are on, the table's full tonight I kept the promise breathing through the fight Dreams don't die They learn to rise