Intro
Barbershop mirror, fluorescent buzz overhead
Pete traces the hairline, says every nick's been read
Verse
Eight years old, fell off the fence chasing Trey
Landed on the chain-link, left a zipper down my cheek
Mama poured peroxide, told me count to three
I counted to ten cause the sting don't listen to me
Corner store window, glass came in through the back
Robbery gone sideways while I'm stacking up the rack
Shard caught my collarbone, still got the little rip
Nine years later same block, different kind of grip
Marcus owed the wrong man, I stood there anyway
Bottle broke on brick, caught the edge before it sprayed
Kept the bandana on so the teacher wouldn't ask
Every summer stacked a line like rings up in a tree
Pete says "that one's oh-six," reads it right off me
I don't need a mirror, I just need a witness
Skin been keeping receipts since before I hit puberty
Chorus
Scars at face value, that's my whole résumé
Every mark's a story and the story sets the pay
Don't need your appraisal, don't need your estimate
I already know what I'm worth at face value
Verse
Sat in the office, fluorescent light again
Man behind the desk with a clipboard and a pen
Asked about the wrist scar, called it prior incident
Said it drops my rating, said the risk is evident
Told him that's the summer that I kept my boy alive
Held a towel to his neck till the ambulance arrived
He typed it in a box, never looked me in the eye
Said the numbers only count what the data can't deny
Funny how a ledger only tallies what you spend
Never counts the nights I bled just to keep a friend
Denied for the loan cause my file reads like trouble
Meanwhile the block remembers when I ran through rubble
Pulled a kid off a fire escape when the wood gave way
Left a scar on my palm
