Kill or Be Killed

Lyrics

Verse 1
M
Ten years on the line, I was locked in steel
Every day was war, had to scrape to heal
Caught in the yard with a death wish stare
One wrong move and the whole room there

F
You was fighting for your breath, fighting for your name
Every scar you earned still calls out pain
You saw blood on the floor, saw the lights go dim
Still you kept one thought like a prayer in your ribs

M
Both my bids stacked up, ten years gone
Had to learn real fast what I was made of from
Hit in the head with locks, still I stood back up
In that pressure-cook hell, I was pressed too much

Pre-Chorus
F
One time down, then I came back cold
Heart kept beating but the fear got bold
September twenty-two, I rose that day
Same body, new ghosts in the way

Chorus
Kill or be killed
That was the rule
Kill or be killed
I survived the whole zoo
Kill or be killed
I paid my dues
Killed by the pain
Then I came back through

Verse 2
M
I died one time, yeah, I seen that gate
Then I woke back up with a different fate
Never been the same since that cell-block night
PTSD on me, keep the past in sight

F
You still hear that slam in the back of your mind
Still flinch at the sound when they cut the line
Still keep your guard up, still watch every face
'Cause the world ain't soft when you lose that place

M
I was trying to make it home with my head held high
Even when the whole damn system lied
Every day was survive, every night was test
Had to learn how to live with a wound in my chest

Bridge
F
You made it out, but the smoke stayed near
Some days you breathe, some days you fear
Still you stand when the old pain calls
Still you win when you rise through it all

M
I ain't proud of the scars, but I wear what I know
That prison made a man out the boy below
If I talk like a soldier, it's 'cause I had to be
Fight for my life so I could get free

Chorus
Kill or be killed
That was the rule
Kill or be killed
I survived the whole zoo
Kill or be killed
I paid my dues
Killed by the pain
Then I came back through

Outro
M
September twenty-two, I got up that day
Never the same, but I found my way
F
Never the same, but you made it home
Now the whole world hears what you lived alone