[Intro | washed electric piano, distorted bass swell, filtered percussion pulse | low, close mic]
(quiet)
Did it right…
still don’t feel right
---
[Verse 1 | uneven groove, punchy kick, loose hats, distorted bass movement, washed electric piano | restless delivery]
Late ‘08—shit got tight
Came out school that winter—did it right
Four straight years from fall to spring
Played my role—I ain’t miss a thing
Worked through summers, cleared that debt
Thought by twenty-two I’d land shit next
Whole market froze—no doors open
Tuesday calls all felt hopeless
Everywhere I went—same answer
“Not right now”—same damn pattern
Resumé clean—but it ain’t matter
Wrong year hit—whole world shattered
February bills still stackin’ up
Did it all right—still bad luck
Start thinkin’—what was the point?
All that grind… still ain’t enough
Watched some fold by late ‘09
Watched some fake it just to get by
I’m in the middle—ain’t moved yet
Same apartment… still stuck in it
---
[Hook | fuller distorted bass, wider electric piano, unstable ambience | strained melody]
Had the dream sold—kick in when I’m free
Went home that summer—fate hit me
Was I better off before?
I’m tired—I had a role, I miss it, this ain’t me
Bad days turn five times more
I can’t fall back—I been here before
How many years this goin’ take?
God… how much more I gotta wait
---
[Verse 2 | busier percussion, warped bass movement, unstable textures | urgent delivery]
These thoughts creep in—fuck the rules… but I can’t
I ain’t movin’ like I did at sixteen—I ain’t that
Can’t be that clean, can’t slide that quiet
Body different now—one slip get violent
Still know the rhythm, I could line that beat
Show ’em how to move, take a cut off each
Set it up smooth—let it run through June
That’s the kinda thought hit late in my room
Power start talkin’, get loud by night
Rent due first week—I ain’t sleepin’ right
Four white walls—feel stuck in it
Like December cold never left that apartment
Do I flip it back—just run that play?
Five bands a day… I know that lane
Spring turn summer—I still ain’t moved
Still sendin’ apps I can’t see through
Nah… I stay straight—ain’t goin’ back to that shit
Need money that move me—don’t trap me in it
---
[Bridge | distant pulse, bass hum, warped electric piano | detached, low]
The spotlight got my slide
Burnin’ for that quick high
The spark turned into a roach
Stuck in this curse, still play it close
My head fucked—I know
I ain’t goin’ back… I know
---
[Hook | fuller percussion returns, unstable bass movement | stronger vocal]
Had the dream sold—kick in when I’m free
Went home that summer—fate hit me
Was I better off before?
I’m tired—I had a role, I miss it, this ain’t me
Bad days turn five times more
I can’t fall back—I been here before
How many years this goin’ take?
God… how much more I gotta wait
Golds_Nuggets
