Intro
Frontenac light still buzzes past three
Nobody clocks a halo till it bleeds
Verse
Frontenac corner, streetlamp cracked like a knuckle
Theo rode his bike wheels spinning through a puddle
I owed Manny sixty for a favor gone crooked
Manny sent a shooter, aim wasn't for the rookie
Theo pedaled through it, didn't see the sedan turning
I grabbed his collar, felt the metal skin burning
Bullet found my shoulder where the denim used to hang
Block start calling me a saint before the sirens rang
Momma pressed a towel, said don't tell them how it started
Told the cops it's random, kept the debt part guarded
Theo's mother hugged me, said you saved my only son
I just nodded slow, thinking 'bout the man I'd become
Scar healed jagged, shaped just like a question mark
Every time I flex it, feel the weight of where it sparked
They put my name on flyers, hero of the Frontenac line
But heroes don't get made from debts they left behind
Chorus
Call it a halo, they don't see the toll
Every bit of shine got a piece of my soul
Wear it like armor but it's borrowed, not owned
Collateral halo, and the interest still grows
Verse
Three years later Theo's taller than the fence line
Still waves at me sunrise, still thinks the debt's a myth line
Manny's out on parole now, sits outside the deli
Nods like water under bridges, but the water's never steady
Kids on Vance Street sketch my shoulder scar in chalk
Turned my worst mistake into a legend that can talk
I hand out jackets now, same as Manny used to
Try to break the chain before it passes to the youth too
Theo asked me straight up, why's your shoulder shaped like that
