Never Fold Twice (version 2)

Intro

Smoke in the vents, four a.m., pen on the pad

(Yung Ledger)

One time, never twice, that's my math

Verse

Cold noodles, laptop glow, receipts on the floor

Landlord knockin', I just count what's behind the door

Twenty-two rejections stacked up like a deck of cards

Still I shuffle up the hustle, play the hand I'm dealt, no guards

Momma said the ceiling cracked but the roof still held

Same way my back still straight though the weight never fell

Corner store credit, gas station coffee, black

Every "no" I collected turned to fuel for the track

Bus stop bars, freestylin' with the static in my ear

Watched the block eat itself, stayed sharp, kept it clear

Uncle sold his watch to help me press the first CD

Now I'm pressin' forward, ain't no pressure gonna bend me

Scribbled hooks on napkins, traded sleep for the sound

Kept my head up even when the odds tried to drown

Not a fluke, not a phase, this a fact I've foreseen

One fold and I'm done, so I stay standing, lean

Chorus

I never fold twice, I learned that lesson young

Bend a little, bounce right back, that's the song I sung

Cracked the pavement, planted roots, watched the whole thing rise

I never fold twice, I keep my eyes on the prize

Verse

Studio lights flicker like they testin' my nerve

Engineer said "run it back," I said "that's what I deserve"

Every verse a receipt for the nights I ain't sleep

Every hook a heartbeat that refused to skip a beat

Rent was due the same week that the deal almost fell through

Signed anyway, told doubt "I got nothin' left to prove to you"

Momma's in the front row now, tears turned into pride

Same tears that hit the pillow when I had nowhere to hide

Bank account was empty but my notebook stayed full

Traded every excuse for a work ethic pull

Grinded through the winter when the heater couldn't run

Now the summer's warm, I'm still movin' like it's one

Critics threw the shade, I just planted where it fell

Grew a garden out the dirt they said I'd never sell

Bent under the weight but I never hit the ground

One fold, never twice, that's the code I found

Chorus

I never fold twice, I learned that lesson young

Bend a little, bounce right back, that's the song I sung

Cracked the pavement, planted roots, watched the whole thing rise

I never fold twice, I keep my eyes on the prize

Bridge

Used to pray for a sign, now I am the sign

Used to chase the light, now the light's inside mine

Every scar's a compass pointin' where I'm goin'

Every doubt's a door that I been slowly closin'

Outro

One fold, never twice, that's the code for life

Pen still movin', heart still true, through the strife

Yung Ledger, balance sheet, I paid the cost

Bent but never broken, never was I lost