Verse 1

He learned the sound of slammed doors young,

A cold plate waiting, the kettle gone numb.

Mama kept quiet, his father looked through,

The friends on the corner had somewhere else to go.

He took to the bottle to soften the night,

Smoke in his jacket, no sleep till daylight.

They said he was trouble, then left him alone,

He carried that label like weight in his bones.

Chorus

I kept my hands working when nobody stayed,

Counted each paycheck, kept rent getting paid.

If I can still stand, there is something to save,

Though the past keeps calling, I’m walking away.

Verse 2

He clocked in early, came home with sore hands,

Folded small bills where the old photo stands.

No call from his parents, no knock from a friend,