Intro
Tenement hallway, smell of ammonia and rust
Mailbox number seven, never got nothing but dust
Mama said the building breathes when you listen close enough
Said the walls remember every hand that kept them up
Verse 1
Fourth floor, no elevator, knees know the count
Took the stairs two at a time, racing against doubt
Sixteen, working nights at the warehouse on Mott
Stacking pallets till my palms split, fingers raw and hot
Foreman said don't bleed on the freight, keep it moving son
Wrapped my hands in paper towels, made it to the one
Landlord waiting at the door with his hand already out
Rent was due on the first, it was already the eighth
Watched my mother's shoulders bend a little more that week
Learned right then what survival meant, learned not to speak
Came home with the money, smelled like sweat and diesel fuel
She just nodded, took it, didn't ask me how or what the rule
Scar on my left palm still splits when the weather turns
Scar on my chest runs deeper, that's the one that burns
Chorus
These marks don't fade, they just learn to live
Proof of what I took, proof of what I give
These marks don't fade, they just learn to live
Proof of what I took, proof of what I give
Verse 2
Twenty-two, moved weight for a man named Clarence Street
Thought the money was the answer, thought it made me complete
Six months in, cousin Dante disappeared one night
Found him three blocks over, face caved in, not right
Clarence said don't ask questions, said don't go to cops
Said the game don't pause for nobody, said it never stops
But I stopped, walked away, took a job at the dock
Loading shipping containers under fluorescent clock
Lost the money, lost the rep, lost the crew that came with it
But I kept my mother's number saved, kept my breathing, kept my limit
That's a different kind of scar, one that don't show skin
One that marks your choices, marks the man you could've been
Chorus
These marks don't fade, they just learn to live
Proof of what I took, proof of what I give
These marks don't fade, they just learn to live
Proof of what I took, proof of what I give
Bridge
Now I'm teaching kids on Saturday at the rec center
Showing them the palms, the lines, the places pressure settles
Said your body keeps a ledger that your mind won't comprehend
Every scar's a conversation between where you are and where you been
Ain't no shame in the marks, ain't no weakness in the weight
Strength is knowing which ones matter, knowing when to break
Outro
Fourth floor apartment, own the lease now, own the keys
Mama sits in the kitchen, she don't bend the way she used to be
I got scars from the work, got scars from the wait
Got scars from the love, got scars from the hate
And I wear them like a language only this block understand
Like a prayer, like a promise, like a man
