[Instrumental Hurdy-gurdy intro] [Verse 1] Mama's gone, daddy's pissed, another broken night They said "the state will fix you, child, we'll set your future right" Little boy with stolen bread, girl with bruises deep They marched us through the iron gates where the lost ones weep Concrete halls and numbered beds, no mother's lullaby Just guards with batons, cold as steel, and rules that make you cry They call it rehabilitation, but the lessons that we learned Were how to hate, how to break, how to never trust a word [Chorus] Oh, the system takes the wounded and it sharpens them like blades Turns scared and shattered children into tomorrow's renegades From juvenile detention to the prison yard parade You built the monsters, now you fear the mess you made! Cradle to cage, cradle to cage You stole our youth and filled the graves [Verse 2] In the yard the wolves are waiting, survival of the mean Friendship forged in bloody knuckles, nightmares in between They teach you how to hustle, how to hide the pain inside How a minor charge becomes a chain you wear with pride Therapy's a joke, the pills just numb the fire Stories of the streets we left become our dark desire Family ties are severed, hearts turned hard as stone What you called "correction" just carved us to the bone [Chorus] Oh, the system takes the wounded and it sharpens them like blades Turns scared and shattered children into tomorrow's renegades From juvenile detention to the prison yard parade You built the monsters, now you fear the mess you made! Cradle to cage, cradle to cage You stole our youth and filled the graves [Bridge] Where are the ones who should have held us? Where's the love that should have healed us? Instead you locked the door and threw away the key Now the cycle spins forever — you blame the kids, not your decree [Heavy Breakdown] You harvest broken souls! Plant them deep in hell! Reap the crime you sow yourself! Ring the funeral bell! [Final Chorus] The system takes the wounded and it sharpens them like blades Feeds the fire, kills the hope, and wonders why we're enraged From those cages came the outlaws, the forgotten, the betrayed We are the children that your "justice" made! Cradle to cage... cradle to cage... Your mercy was a war you waged [Outro] Broken homes to broken bars... The kids you threw away still carry scars...
