Iron Crown Rising 7

Verse

Concrete still wet from the rain last night

Fire escape rattling where a ladder once lived

Sweat dries cold on your collarbone

Same block, same corner, new kind of king

Windows cracked open for an inch of sky

Smoke curls thin around your knuckles

You used to run for the sound of sirens

Now you're the one they talk about in hushed tones

Pre-Chorus

Can't believe my name's called like that now

Same mouth that once said I wouldn't make it

How do we switch from running for cover

To walking like a whole block ain't scared of nothing

Chorus

I'm the iron crown rising over this street

Every window glowing is something real

Hands up, heads high, no more hiding

Nobody built my name but I, myself

This the come-up that they never saw coming

From shelter to shine in one short season

Verse

Old man on the stoop nods at a stranger's gaze

Same porch where he'd whisper 'you're gonna be okay

Now his whole block moves like it already is

Every kid who doubted now asking for advice

Corner store sign changed from red to gold

Your face on the billboard, your name in the code

You wrote yourself into every building tall

Something ancient rising through the fall

Pre-Chorus

Can't believe my name's called like that now

Same mouth that once said I wouldn't make it

How do we switch from running for cover

To walking like a whole block ain't scared of nothing

Chorus

I'm the iron crown rising over this street

Every window glowing is something real

Hands up, heads high, no more hiding

Nobody built my name but I, myself

This the come-up that they never saw coming

From shelter to shine in one short season

Bridge

They doubted the spark, not the flame it would make

I kept every rejection folded inside my jacket

Every door slammed shut taught me how to build the key

Every tear became marble for the throne I'm sitting on today

Chorus

I'm the iron crown rising over this street

Every window glowing is something real

Hands up, heads high, no more hiding

Nobody built my name but I, myself

This the come-up that they never saw coming

From shelter to shine in one short season