[Intro]
Suitcase by the door
Dust on my old name
Mama texted, “You close?”
Heart beatin’ like a train
[Verse 1]
Pulled up, new paint on the corner store
Same old clerk, just older in the eyes
Kids on bikes where we used to war
Over cracked-up courts and crooked lines
My school turned condos, glass and chrome
But that busted stop sign still leanin’ wrong
Same church bell, same tired tone
Different faces hummin’ that same old song
[Chorus]
Back on my block, but the block moved on
New slang, new cars, same rising sun
Everything changed, but the smell’s still the same
Fried food, cut grass, and a pocket of pain
I’m back on my block, back where I came from
Ghosts in the alleys all callin’ me “son”
Everything changed, but my heart still remains
Walkin’ these streets like I never left, never left
[Verse 2]
They paved that field where we learned to fight
Now it’s joggers, dogs, and designer tights
My name carved deep in the bus seat frame
Still there, half gone, but it spells my shame
Ran into Dre, he said, “Man, you left”
I said, “Had to breathe, had to chase my breath”
He stayed, got kids, got a tired laugh
Same crooked grin cut in half by the past
Corner house blue now, used to be tan
Same old swing, just rust on the chain
My room’s a guest room, clean and bland
But the floor still creaks where I hid my stains
[Chorus]
[Bridge]
What stays, what fades
Old wounds, fresh paint over the same old weight
New names, old graves
I stand in the middle while the world rotates
[low vocal register] “You home?”
I whisper it soft to the air
This place grew up, I grew out
But we still share this wear and tear
[Chorus]