[Intro - Piano] I hate some of what it was. Still can't pretend it wasn't mine. [Verse 1 - Measured hard rap] I won't put a ribbon round the years I lost, Won't call every bad turn worth the cost. Some lessons useful, some prices obscene, Some pages I wish weren't part of me. But I lived that life, made choices in it, Can't change the start by refusing to visit. I was a kid who didn't listen enough, Then a young man mixing pride with hurt. Now I can see what I couldn't back then, How the same old fear kept changing its dress. I hate what happened. I own what I did. Both belong in the story of this. [Build] Don't need to love Every place I've been. Need to take what's real— And let the next part in. [Chorus - Massive chant] IT WAS WHAT IT WAS! I CAN'T CHANGE THEN! BUT I CAN CHOOSE WHAT I DO NEXT! PAST IN MY BONES! FEET IN TODAY! IT MADE ME THIS BLOKE— I STILL CHOOSE MY WAY! [Verse 2 - Double-time] Got the grit from survival, the patience from work, Got regret that reminds me to check who gets hurt. Got a heart that still cares under all that defence, Got a head learning things it once wouldn't accept. I ain't finished, ain't washed clean, Still a man with a history trying to live decently. Don't owe the old crowd a repeat performance, Don't owe my past a lifetime of torment. Turn thirty with a whole lot to carry, But I can put effort where tomorrow gets better. Same bloke, more sight, more ground, Next chapter starts with me looking around. [Bridge - Bare piano] I'd change things if I could. I can't. So I change what I can. [Final Chorus - Huge drop] IT WAS WHAT IT WAS! I CAN'T CHANGE THEN! BUT I CAN CHOOSE WHAT I DO NEXT! PAST IN MY BONES! FEET IN TODAY! IT MADE ME THIS BLOKE— I STILL CHOOSE MY WAY!
