[Intro] Some lessons come easy Some come with a price Some take a lifetime Just to get right [Verse 1] There is dirt beneath my fingernails that never washes clean There are places in my memory that still know what I mean There are names I do not mention, there are debts I never claim There are chapters of my life that never made it to the page I have watched a good heart harden when the world refused to care Watched a man give everything and find that nobody was there I have seen the richest people living scared of losing more And a broke man split his last dollar with a stranger at the door Tell me what makes somebody worthy, tell me what makes somebody strong Is it how they treat the people when there is nothing going on? Is it what they say in public, is it what they do alone? Is it standing by your people when the easy road says go? I have learned the truth is heavy, but a lie will weigh you down And the loudest man in any room is not the strongest around I have walked enough hard miles to know the difference in the two I would rather face an ugly truth than live inside a fool's excuse [Chorus] There is gravel in my gospel, there is thunder in my blood I was raised by hard decisions, I was tested in the mud Every scar became a sentence, every loss became a line I have carried what was broken till I made the lesson mine There is gravel in my gospel, there is iron in my soul I have learned that being wealthy does not mean that you are whole When the final page is written and the world forgets the show Let them say I stood for something when I had nowhere to go [Verse 2] I have watched a friendship crumble over something small and cheap Seen a promise turn to nothing when it cost too much to keep I have learned that being busy does not mean that you have grown And a man can stand in a crowd and still be standing all alone There were nights I fought the mirror, mornings I could barely rise Days I had to build a reason just to look myself in the eyes But I never let the worst of me decide the man I would become There is still a little fight left when the long day is done I do not preach perfection, I have never walked that road I have made enough mistakes to know the weight of what they owed But I will own what I have broken, I will answer for my name I will never blame the weather for the choices that I made If tomorrow brings a mountain, I will meet it where it stands If the world takes back its favor, I will still have both my hands I have got no golden promise, I have got no perfect past Just a heart that keeps on beating and a will that holds fast [Chorus] There is gravel in my gospel, there is thunder in my blood I was raised by hard decisions, I was tested in the mud Every scar became a sentence, every loss became a line I have carried what was broken till I made the lesson mine There is gravel in my gospel, there is iron in my soul I have learned that being wealthy does not mean that you are whole When the final page is written and the world forgets the show Let them say I stood for something when I had nowhere to go [Bridge] Do not measure me by money Do not measure me by fame Measure me by what I carried When nobody knew my name Measure me by who I lifted When I barely had my own Measure me by what I stood for When I stood there all alone [Breakdown] I am not spotless I am not gold I am a thousand lessons That the hard years told I am still learning I am still here And I have earned every line That you hear [Final Chorus] There is gravel in my gospel, there is thunder in my blood I was raised by hard decisions, I was tested in the mud Every scar became a sentence, every loss became a line I have carried what was broken till I made the lesson mine There is gravel in my gospel, there is iron in my soul I have learned that being wealthy does not mean that you are whole When the final page is written and the world forgets the show Let them say I stood for something when I had nowhere to go [Outro] No perfect story No spotless hands Just a life worth knowing And a man who stands
