[Intro] They say life runs through five stages of grief... Denial. Anger. Bargaining. Depression. Acceptance. Funny how that lines up with the story of a man’s soul. This is the five stages of me. [Denial] Momma said I was just tired, kept settin’ my plate like I’d show. Bible on the table, smile in her eyes, but deep down she had to know. Needle in the drawer with my letters, burn holes in the clothes on the floor, she kissed my cheek like nothin’ was wrong, but she never unlocked that door. Kept tellin’ folks I was workin’, sayin’ “He’s got a good heart still.” Like if she said it enough out loud, maybe I wouldn’t chase that pill. Denial ain’t just for the broken, it’s for the ones who stay and pray—she saw the cracks in my halo, but looked the other way. [Anger] Pop didn’t cry, he broke a wall, taught me silence with a fist. Told me “Men don’t beg or bend,” so I learned to clench my wrist. Dinner plates flew like words unsaid, love came cold and sharp. He bled his rage into our blood, and it turned my soul dark. Family stopped sayin’ my name, acted like I never breathed. Their anger built that prison long before the judge decreed. I became what they expected, wore the hate like second skin. Told myself I’d burn it all if they AIN'T GONNA LET ME IN! [Chorus] I was just a shadow of the man they thought I’d be. Raised on rage and silence—ain’t no love in legacy. If pain’s a language, then I learned to speak it clean. They gave me fire for a future and called that loyalty. [Bargaining] Swore I’d clean up if they made bail, said “One more chance, I’ll change.” Told God I’d stop if He’d save her, but He stayed outta range. Face down in blood and glass, I bartered with a ghost. Begged the night to take me back to the time I failed him most. Tried tradin’ pain for mercy, but the scales never tipped. Law don’t deal in promises, and my prayers always slipped. Whispered deals into the void, “Take me, but spare the kid.” But death don’t do no trade-ins—just collects what I let it. [Depression] Didn’t leave the house for months, let the world rot outside the blinds. Clock hands spun, but I stayed still, just a grave with breath and spine. Ghosts lived inside my mirror, their eyes looked just like mine. And every laugh I ever had felt like a lie the whole damn time. Liquor bottle read me bedtime, ashtray sang my lullabies. Called out names in empty rooms till the echoes turned to cries. Ain’t no bottom, just more fallin’—till you forget how to scream. Felt alive just once a week when I collapsed inside a dream. [Chorus] I let the dark become my father, let the silence be my friend. I wore regret like a blanket and forgot how to pretend. There’s no light at the bottom—only echoes in the drain. And I kept slippin’ deeper just to feel a different pain. [Acceptance] I ain’t clean, but I ain’t gone, still scarred, still breathin’ smoke. Took the pain and made a purpose, built a fire from what broke. Found a place where broken boys learn to swing and stand up tall. Now I teach ‘em how to fight right so they don’t stumble like I fall. If I can’t undo what I’ve done, I can damn sure make it mean. Catch ‘em ‘fore the needle calls, pull ‘em out that violent stream. I don’t preach — I show the marks, I let ‘em see the bleed. Ain’t no savior in this story, just a man who plants the seed. [Final Chorus] I lived every stage of grief, wore each one like a chain. Broke ‘em link by link each time I stood back up in pain. You don’t get healed by Heaven—you get better when you fight. Now I walk with the broken toward the edge of dawnin’ light. [Outro] This ain’t a recovery song. It’s a roadmap made of scars. And if you’re hearin’ this… you ain’t too far gone.
