[Intro] [Spoken word - confident, direct] "Do not confuse ‘duty’ with what other people expect of you; they are utterly different. Duty is a debt you owe to yourself to fulfill obligations you have assumed voluntarily. Paying that debt can entail anything from years of patient work to instant willingness to die. Difficult it may be, but the reward is self-respect." [Verse 1] Thunderhead’s breaking, the sky’s turning gray Most people leave it and just drive away Leaving that chrome skeleton out in the slot To roll into a door or just rust in the lot But I’m stepping out while the downpour starts I’m not the employee, I’m just a man with a cart Grip on the handle, shoes soaking through Because I told myself that’s what I’m gonna do It’s thirty-five yards to the metal corral A personal contract, a private morale Let it pour, let it flood, let the lightning strike I’m doing the thing that a man should like. [Chorus] Duty’s what I owe to me, not what they demand I chose it, I own it, I paid for where I stand Cart to the stall, heart on my sleeve That’s the man I swore I’d be. [Verse 2] The clock hits twenty-two-hundred on the dot Three and a half years in the exact same spot Distance never changes, the route is the same But I leave sixty minutes early just to stay in the game Through the pile-ups and break-downs and the city’s mistakes I’m honoring the deal and the promise it takes I signed on the line, yeah, I’m an adult in the room I’m not dodging the pressure or the shift-work gloom I don't do it for the boss or the gold on the wall I do it 'cause I'm the one who answered the call. [Chorus] Duty’s what I owe to me, not what they demand I chose it, I own it, I paid for where I stand Cart to the stall, heart on my sleeve That’s the man I swore I’d be. [Verse 3] [Double Length - shift to grounded, heartfelt tone] The house is a little more quiet these days And the path that we’re walking has parted its ways But the contract I signed when I held you at birth Is the only thing left that has absolute worth So I’m there for the nightmares and the questions at four I’m the shadow that’s waiting outside of the door For every scraped knee and every "why" that you ask I’m stripping the ego and I’m wearing the mask It’s a debt that I owe to the life I began To show you the heart and the grit of a man It’s patient, it’s heavy, it’s a long-distance run But the work of a father is never quite done I chose this burden, I carry the weight And I wouldn't trade a second with the hands of fate. [Chorus] Duty’s what I owe to me, not what they demand I chose it, I own it, I paid for where I stand Cart to the stall, heart on my sleeve That’s the man I swore I’d be. [Outro] [Rhythmic acoustic strumming] A debt to myself. A debt I can pay. The reward is looking in the mirror today. Self-respect.
