Intro
Sharpie tally on the mirror, half rubbed thin
Uncle Rok said every scar gets you back in
No cash today, boy, show me where you been
That's the toll on this door, that's how we let you in
Verse 1
Fourteen years old, knuckle split on a fence rail
Held the gate shut while my brother made the mail
Blood on my hoodie sleeve, mama sewed the tear
Uncle Rok saw the mark, said that's a year of your fare
Chalked it on the mirror next to Reggie's burn scar
Reggie caught a graze just walking home from the yard
We don't trade in dollars, dollars leave the block by June
Scars stay put, they vouch for you under any moon
Barber chair's a bank, straight razor is the teller
Every nick you kept quiet makes your credit realer
Paid for my first cut with a story 'bout the fire
Told 'em how I pulled Miss Tanya's cat off the wire
Palm still got the burn, pink like a stamp
That's the receipt they check when the lights go damp
Some kids flash sneakers, we flash where we been broke
Currency of surviving, and it's never a joke
Chorus
Scars you can spend, round here that's the rate
Every cut on my arms paid a debt, closed a gate
Don't need paper when your body keeps the weight
Scars you can spend, that's how we calculate
Verse 2
Ten years later I'm the one behind the chair
Watching new kids come in trying to build a fare
Kevin drew a scar with a marker on his wrist
Thought a fake receipt could get him on the list
Uncle Rok just laughed, said ink don't hold the weight
Only real blood remembers the exact date
I remember when Reggie's tab ran short one winter
Cold got in the shop, nobody had a splinter
So we split our stories, doubled up the credit
Loyalty's the only thing round here that's ever steady
Denim jacket on the hook still smells like smoke
From the night we pulled Marcus out before the wire broke
That scar's on my forearm, silver like a wire
Paid off half the shop's rent when the roof caught fire
See, the currency of trust don't inflate or fold
Every mark's a promise that already got told
Chorus
Scars you can spend, round here that's the rate
Every cut on my arms paid a debt, closed a gate
Don't need paper when your body keeps the weight
Scars you can spend, that's how we calculate
Bridge
Some nights I wonder if the ledger's a cage
Every wound just ink to keep us on the page
But then I see
