Ten Years Later

Verse 1

I was twenty-one with a restless mind,

Bad decisions, wrong place, wrong time.

Thought I was grown, thought I knew the game,

Didn’t see the bars waiting on my name.

Judge hit the gavel, silence hit hard,

Mama cried loud, I stared at the floor.

Steel doors closed, world went quiet,

Learned real fast how regret stays violent.

They don’t teach you time till you’re counting days,

Marking walls just to stay sane.

Lost friends, lost years, lost calls home,

Learned how lonely gets when you’re grown alone.

Hook (haunting)

Ten years gone, but I’m still here breathing,

Lost my freedom, never lost believing.

I paid for the past, but I’m done with that,

I’m walking forward—I ain’t looking back.

Verse 2

Prison teaches patience the hardest way,

Every night long, every morning gray.

Saw men break down, saw some find faith,

Saw rage turn hope when it met the page.

I read every book I could get my hands on,

Wrote letters to God I never planned on.

Found out strength ain’t fists or pride,

It’s staying human when they strip your rights.

I watched the mirror change my face,

Young man gone, older soul in place.

Promised myself if I ever got free,

I’d live like freedom meant something to me.

Hook (stronger)

Ten years gone, but my heart still beats,

Concrete floors couldn’t bury me.

I paid my debt, I learned my lesson,

Now I’m stepping out with intention.

Verse 3

Gate slid open, sunlight hit different,

World moved fast, I moved hesitant.

Phones got smarter, streets got cold,

Everybody running, nobody knows.

Had a record before I had a chance,

Doors slammed shut before I could knock and ask.

But I kept my head up, kept my word,

I wasn’t chasing fast—I was building forward.

Job to job, humility first,

Learning trust again, breaking the curse.

I don’t want pity, don’t want applause,

I want a life built on truth and cause.

Bridge (spoken / stripped)

I’m not proud of who I was…

But I’m accountable for who I become.

Verse 4

Now I show up early, leave late,

Carry responsibility, not weight.

I mentor kids who look like me,

Tell ’em one mistake ain’t destiny.

I build with patience, brick by brick,

Every honest day another win.

I don’t ask for shortcuts or second looks,

Just the chance to prove change is real when it’s took.

Final Hook (lift)

Ten years gone, but I’m walking tall,

I don’t owe my future to my past at all.

I did the time, now I do the work,

Rebuilding my life—yeah, it hurts, but it works.

Outro

I walked out a felon…

But I’m walking forward a man.

Ten years took a lot from me—

But they didn’t take everything.