[Verse 1] When I was a boy life wasn’t mapped out for me, Every road rolled like ribbon, no toll, no decree. I took a couple wrong turns just to feel the heat Now the map’s creased in places where the ink used to bleed. [Verse 2] Lessons don’t knock they kick the door off the hinge, Leave you picking splinters out from under your skin. Some nights I wear the bruise like a badge, some nights like a mask, Either way, tomorrow makes me wear it again. [Pre-Chorus] But the sky never once asked if I’m ready to break, It just keeps throwing punches till the ground starts to shake. [Chorus] I rise.....half ghost, half gasoline.....stagger back to the street, Boot-heels clicking like a metronome on a war drum beat. Lessons carve initials in the marrow of my bones, Every mile I limp is a mile that’s mine alone. [Musical Interlude Let the fiddle cry, but keep it city. Think subway echo, not back-porch sway] [Verse 3] Now the roads are narrower, the signs all scream my name, Each scar a mile-marker I never meant to claim. I don’t pray for lighter loads, I pray for stronger spine, ’Cause heaven ain’t a exit, it’s just another line. [Chorus 2] I get back up, ashes in my teeth, thunder in my chest! March down the asphalt like it’s all I have left. Lessons are hard, and every fail’s a brand, But I’d rather burn than never understand. [Outro] So I keep walking.....no halo, no home Just the hum of the road and the weight of my own echo.
