BEFORE I COULD FLY [Verse 1] Barely grown, I drew wings in the margins of my books, You called it a phase and never once looked. “Get a job, get a trade, keep both feet on the floor.” So I folded up the sky and shoved it behind a door. Needed your belief, got a map marked with red, A list of every cliff you said waited ahead. Now you ask why I’m lost, why I can’t pick a lane— You paved over every runway and called the wreckage sane. [Chorus] “Get a job, get a life, get a real career.” That sentence has been circling my head for years. You ask why I’m stuck, why I don’t even try— You clipped my wings before I could fly. Defeated, deflated, nailed down to begin, How do I lift off with your doubt under my skin? [Verse 2] Took the jobs, paid the bills, wore the same gray shoes, Watched the calendar drag its wings through the news. “What’s your plan?” I go blank, like a runway in rain, I learned to spot the crash before I boarded the plane. You might’ve meant protection, but it landed like shame, Now your voice is the ground every time I take aim. I needed “Let’s try,” needed someone at the start— Got a toolbox full of warnings and a grounded heart. [Bridge] I’m angry at the years that I won’t get back, At the wings I left folded in a cardboard stack. I needed you beside me while I learned how to choose— Needed room to miss the wind, needed room to lose. [Verse 3] I can earn a damn living and still chase the blue, Still want something bigger than what pays what’s due. Still scared, still unsure, but I’m done asking you To stamp every boarding pass before I follow it through. Pulling old plans from the drawer where they gathered dust, Finding the torn-up wings I stopped learning to trust. You don’t have to believe every dream will come true— But I can’t keep living like the ground belongs to you. [Final Hook] “Get a job, get a life, get a real career.” Your words grew roots and held me here. You clipped my wings before I could fly— I’m still scared of falling, but I’m taking back the sky tonight.
