[Intro – Deep Piano + Low Brass] (Batiste plays heavy, hammer-like chords.) Yeah… this the part where I stop askin’ “why me?” and start sayin’ “make me.” Fire ain’t punishment— it’s process. ⸻ [Verse 1] 🎶 Hammer hit hard but it shaped my soul, Fire got hot but it made me whole. Every loss, every tear, every sleepless night, Turned my weakness into iron, my fear into fight. I walked through storms with no umbrella, Faced down death like a lonely fella. Held my son while the shadows pressed, Stood up tall when my faith got stressed. People see strength, but they don’t see pain, Don’t see the weight I carried through rain. But God saw steel where I saw scars, Saw a warrior forged beneath broken stars. 🎶 ⸻ [Hook – Choir + Wayne] 🎶 Temper me, Lord, in the forge of Your flame, Break what ain’t needed, refine what remains. Fire reveal what the dark can’t steal— Temper me… until I’m steel. 🎶 ⸻ [Verse 2] 🎶 I ain’t the man that I used to be, Tragedy taught me who I’m called to be. March took joy, April stole breath, July tried grief, November screamed stress. But through each hit, God reshaped my heart, Pulled me from ashes, gave me fresh start. The fire didn’t come just to burn me out— It came to bring the warrior out. See, blessing ain’t soft, it’s carved in trial, Purpose born in the hardest mile. And every blow that life swung at me Just sharpened the edge of my destiny. 🎶 ⸻ [Bridge – Choir Swells, Brass Rising] 🎶 Heat me, mold me, don’t let me fold, Strength in the flame, courage in gold. Pain in the process, hope in the real— Temper me, God… make me steel. 🎶 (Wayne murmurs: “Yeah… refine me, don’t confine me.”) ⸻ [Hook – Full Choir + Full Orchestra] 🎶 Temper me, Lord, in the forge of Your flame, Strip off the doubt, ignite what remains. If fire is trial, then fire is heal— Temper me… until I’m steel. 🎶 ⸻ [Verse 3 – Spoken + Rap] I didn’t ask for the storm. But I thank You for the strength. I didn’t ask for the fire. But I needed the forge. ‘Cause who I am now? I wasn’t before. 🎶 Burn the boy, reveal the man, Tear down fear, rebuild God’s plan. I’m standin’ tall with a brand-new will— Shaping pain into purpose still. 🎶 ⸻ [Final Hook – Choir, Brass, Strings in Full Bloom] 🎶 Temper me, Lord, let the fire refine, Storms tried break me, but strength is mine. In flame I’m remade, in heat I heal— Temper me… I am steel. 🎶 ⸻ [Outro – Piano Alone + Slow Breath] It didn’t break me. It built me. Tempered. Strengthened. Forged… in Your fire.

TEMPER ME (THE FORGE)