Intro
Streetlight flicker, four a.m. hum
Same cracked ceiling, same countdown
Nine, eleven, sixteen tiles
Still counting, still awake, still mine
Verse
Radiator coughing static through the wall
Neighbor's TV bleeding through at ungodly hours
City never sleeps but neither do I, y'all
Watching shadows dance from passing cars
Rent's due Friday, pockets holding lint and pride
Momma's voice on voicemail asking am I fine
I lie through my teeth like it's a certified skill
Counting cracks in plaster just to kill the time
Corner store on Elmwood closing out at three
Bought a coffee black just to keep my company
Sat there with my hoodie, watched the traffic thin
Thinking 'bout the man I used to be, again
Sixteen tiles above me, sixteen bars in me
Every scar's a story that the ceiling's heard from me
Grandma used to say the night reveals the truth
I'm still up here proving that the dark don't own my youth
Chorus
Still counting ceiling tiles, still holding on
City lights outside my window till the dawn
Tired but I'm breathing, tired but I'm strong
Still counting ceiling tiles till the night is gone
Verse
Block's quiet now except the sirens passing through
Red and blue reflections dancing off my shoes
Used to chase that noise, now I let it chase the truth
Every hour that I'm up here, I'm collecting dues
Phone lit up with numbers that don't mean me well
Old friends turned to strangers, stories I don't tell
Kept my circle tight like a fist around a prayer
Learned the ones who clap the loudest rarely stick around there
Bodega cat named Duke, he don't judge my face
Watch him stretch and yawn while I'm stretching out my faith
Building's got a hum like it's breathing with me too
Concrete lullaby for a mind that's overdue
Rest but never resting, that's the city's curse
Every dream deferred just makes the hunger worse
So I write these bars until the sunlight breaks the black
Turn the silence golden, never taking silence back
Chorus
Still counting ceiling tiles, still holding on
City lights outside my window till the dawn
Tired but I'm breathing, tired but I'm strong
Still counting ceiling tiles till the night is gone
Bridge
Maybe morning's closer than my worry lets me see
Maybe every tile's a page in my own history
The city taught me patience wrapped in concrete skin
I've been losing hours, finding who I've been
Outro
Sixteen tiles turn to sunrise through the blinds
Same room, different man this time
Still counting, but I'm counting blessings now
Still standing, city taught me how
