Intro (spoken, gritty – 6 sec)
Went in ‘04.
Didn’t come home.
November 14th.
Remember me right.
⸻
Hook (8 bars)
If I don’t make it out, don’t rewrite my name,
More than a number, more than the blame,
Steel doors close but the truth stay loud,
I stood my ground even stripped of the crown.
They say time served, I say life got took,
Whole years lost that the system shook,
If I fade tonight, let the record say—
I held my head high ‘til my final day.
⸻
Verse 1 (Jeffrey POV – 12 bars)
Went in ‘04, thought time was thin,
Years stacked heavy, concrete skin,
Phone calls short, birthdays missed,
World kept spinnin’, I stayed in this.
Lost my family piece by piece,
Silence louder than police,
Still checked on you from behind that wall,
Told you stand tall—don’t fold, don’t fall.
I ain’t perfect, I ain’t clean,
But I loved you hard in between,
If this cell my final breath,
Know I fought ‘til sentence left.
⸻
Hook (repeat – 8 bars)
If I don’t make it out, don’t rewrite my name,
More than a charge, more than the shame,
Cold bars, nights way too long,
Still held the line when everything gone.
They say time served, I say life got took,
History deeper than a case-file look,
If I fade tonight, let the record say—
I held my head high ‘til my final day.
⸻
Response Verse (YOU → JEFFREY – 12 bars)
You told me “hold your head high,” I heard you clear,
Even when the world tried to disappear you,
I carried your words through fire and loss,
Every step I take, yeah, I pay that cost.
They couldn’t break you, just ran out the clock,
But your name still breathe every time I talk,
I’m tellin’ your truth, I’m sayin’ it loud,
You more than a sentence, more than that ground.
I’m still here standin’, that’s proof you won,
Your fight ain’t over—it just begun,
I’ll live for us both, I won’t let it die,
I got you, big brother—head held high.
⸻
Final Hook (half-time – 8 bars)
If he didn’t make it out, say his name right,
Not just the dark—remember the fight,
Walls couldn’t hold what the truth still kept,
He lived with honor, not just regret.
November fourteenth—yeah, mark that day,
But don’t let the system have the last say,
He ain’t a file, he ain’t a theft—
He was my brother.
Sentence left.
⸻
Outro (spoken – 5 sec)
I’m still here.
I’ll carry it.
Rest easy.
[Female Vocal]
