Intro Graduated high school, grease on my hands, Eighteen with a tool belt, rent due, need a plan. They said, “It’s honest work, help people get by,” I believed that lie the first day I signed. ⸻ Verse 1 I showed up young, thought I’d make a dent, Broken locks, cracked tiles, mold in the vents. Single moms stressed, babies on the hip, Boyfriends in and out like a revolving shift. Cheap rent, stacked programs, paperwork thick, Daycare paid, food cards swipe quick. I felt bad—thought life dealt them wrong, Thought I’d fix what I could, keep moving on. I’d stay late, talk straight, try to motivate, “Go back to school, don’t let this be fate.” They nodded, smiled, said they’d think it through, Next week same couch, same excuses too. ⸻ Pre-Chorus I came in thinking I was here to help, Didn’t know I was patching a system that feeds on itself. ⸻ Chorus 1 I fix doors but I can’t fix choices, Still try to break cycles with hopeful voices. I patch the walls, they tear them down, Same struggles moving unit to unit, town to town. I carry keys but I don’t control the locks, I’m paid to repair what the system forgot. I try to save more than I’m paid for, Still knocking, still hoping… door to door. ⸻ Verse 2 Drugs in the stairwells, bottles by the bins, Kids raising kids while parents sink in screens. Middle of the day, curtains still drawn, Checks hit accounts like a scheduled alarm. I started noticing the math didn’t lie, Some made more staying home than I did trying. New TVs, phones, name-brand shoes, But no respect for the place they lived in to use. Doors kicked in, holes in the drywall, “Fix it for free,” like it’s not their fault. Every complaint loud, every rule bent, Responsibility died when the rent got sent. ⸻ Verse 3 Disability claims stacked wall to wall, Anxiety papers, can’t work at all. But strong enough to party all night, Weak when it’s time to show up on time. System rewards staying exactly the same, Punishes progress, protects the pain. Every step forward means less support, So why climb out when the floor feels short? I watched it teach people how not to try, How to survive—but never to rise. Not all were lazy, that’s the hardest truth, But the system trained apathy into youth. ⸻ Chorus 2 I fix doors but I can’t fix choices, Can’t drown out habits with warning voices. I patch the walls, they tear them down, Same problems moving unit to unit, town to town. I carry keys but I don’t control the locks, I’m paid to repair what incentives broke. I give more effort than I’m paid for, Knocking less now… seen this before. ⸻ Verse 4 That part hurt worst—the kids outside, No supervision, learning how to lie. I’d talk to teens while fixing lights, “Don’t end up stuck here the rest of your life.” Some listened close, some laughed it off, Same patterns repeating like a generational cost. Mothers exhausted, fathers gone, Cycle moving forward like nothing’s wrong. I saw kids turn eighteen, same address, Same forms, same checks, same stress. Watched the torch pass hand to hand, Not culture—conditioning, stamped by the plan. ⸻ Bridge Yeah, I still feel bad—don’t get it twisted, Poverty’s real, trauma existed. But sympathy without truth just feeds the flame, And truth gets buried when blame has a name. ⸻ Verse 5 Twenty years in, my heart went numb, Not from hate—but seeing nothing change once. Every fix felt temporary, every effort a loss, Good intentions crushed by bureaucratic cost. I wasn’t angry at people—I was mad at the lie, That throwing money alone teaches people to fly. You can’t subsidize purpose or discipline, You can’t pay someone into believing in themselves again. ⸻ Final Chorus I fix doors but I can’t fix choices, Can’t pull people forward when the system rewards it. I patch the walls, they tear them down, Same cycle moving unit to unit, town to town. I carry keys but I don’t control the locks, I’m paid to repair what the system built wrong. I tried to save more than I was paid for, Twenty years later… I don’t knock anymore. ⸻ Outro I left with a toolbox and heavier eyes, Still believe people can change—but not when the system lies. You don’t save lives by trapping them safe, You give them a ladder—not a padded cage.
