Verse
Basement gym below the butcher's, sawdust on the mat
Grandfather wrapped his knuckles in the paper from the fat
Called the swelling interest, called the bruising rent
Every purse he won went straight to cover what he spent
Kept a jar of teeth up on the mantle like a crown
Said a man ain't earned his name till one of his falls down
Father took the gloves at seventeen, same jar, same shelf
Broke his jaw in Memphis, wired it shut, fought through it himself
Taught me how to breathe through pain like it was just the weather
Said the scar tissue binds a family closer than the leather
Pre-Chorus
How many knuckles turn to gravel 'fore they call it paid
How much of a man gets buried in the bones he made
Chorus
Pay the bone tithe, one more tooth for the jar
Every crack in the knuckle is a mile marked how far
Blood on the canvas write the only name that's true
You don't get to be legend till the bone comes due
Verse
I fought my first at twelve, cracked rib, didn't cry
Coach said tears cost extra, said the jar don't lie
Learned to count my breath in rounds instead of years
Learned a standing ovation sound the same as jeers
Twenty-six now, my hands read like a map of debt
Every scar's a station where I ain't paid off yet
Still I send the purse home, still I set the tooth
Still I lie to my mother, tell her I'm alright, that's the truth
Some nights the jar looks heavier than the belt I won
Some nights I wonder what's left of me when the fighting's done
Pre-Chorus
How many knuckles turn to gravel 'fore they call it paid
How much of a man gets buried in the bones he made
Chorus
Pay the bone tithe, one more tooth for the jar
Every crack in the knuckle is a mile marked how far
Blood on the canvas write the only name that's true
You don't get to be legend till the bone comes due
Bridge
My son picked up the wraps last week, I took them from his hand
Told him the jar stays full, he don't gotta understand
He asked me why I kept it, I said it's how we count the cost
Then I locked the case for good, said some tithes gotta stop
Not 'cause the fight wasn't worth it, not 'cause the name don't hold
Just 'cause a legend's made of more than what got broke and sold
Chorus
Pay the bone tithe, one more tooth for the jar
Every crack in the knuckle is a mile marked how far
Blood on the canvas write the only name that's true
You don't get to be legend till the bone comes due
