OLD DOG NRW TRICKS

Lyrics

OLD DOG / NEW TRICKS

INTRO — spoken, low / distorted

Yeah...

Funny thing about fighting your way out of hell...

Sometimes you look around...

And realize you don't even know where the fuck you are anymore.

No road signs.
No trail.
No light.

Just you...

And whatever's left.

So...

Am I stuck here?

...

Fuck that.

VERSE 1 — CHOPPER

I been draggin' these chains through the rain and the mud,
Got blood on my knuckles and dirt in my lungs,
Every time that I climb, something cuts off the rope,
Every door that I knock on gets slammed in my throat,
I've been broke, I've been bent, I've been buried alive,
Had a thousand damn reasons to quit and still fight,
Put my back to the wall, put my fist through the brick,
Took a lifetime of hits just to learn how to kick.

Now I'm standin' in the middle of nowhere,
No map, no path, no sign anywhere,
Just a dead-end horizon and a sky full of gray,
And I'm askin' myself,
"How the hell did I get here this way?"

I followed every scar like a road through the dark,
But the trail disappeared somewhere after the spark,
Now I'm lost in the woods with the wolves closing in,
And the voice in my head keeps sayin',
"You ain't gonna win."

But I—

PRE-HOOK — building

I got rage in my ribs,
I got fire in my breath,
Got a war in my chest
That ain't finished yet.

Maybe I lost my way...

Maybe the way ain't gone.

Maybe I gotta make my own damn road
And drag my ass along.

HOOK — HUGE / HALF-TIME

AM I STUCK HERE?

Tell me, is this where the road disappears?

IS THERE A WAY OUT?

'Cause I've been fighting through the blood and the years.

If I gotta crawl,
Then I'll crawl through hell.

If I gotta break these walls,
Then I'll break 'em myself.

And if there's still one round
Left in this old dog's fight—

THEN LET THE WHOLE FUCKING WORLD
STEP INTO THE LIGHT.

'Cause I ain't dead...

NOT YET.

VERSE 2 — FASTER CHOPPER

I been chewed by the system, spit out by the grind,
Had the weight of a world try to break down my mind,
Had the people I trusted turn their backs and retreat,
Had defeat put a boot to the back of my teeth,
Still I rose from the floor with a hole in my soul,
Told myself, "Keep moving," when I couldn't control
Where the hell I was headed or where I would land,
So I tightened my grip and kept making a stand.

But I'm tired.

Yeah, I'm fucking tired.

Tired of reaching for something that keeps getting higher,
Tired of giving my all just to barely survive,
Tired of feeling like I'm just staying alive.

And I stare at the road but the road isn't there,
Just a cold empty silence and dead fucking air,
No footprints ahead, no footprints behind,
Just a thousand directions and none of 'em mine.

So maybe—

Maybe the answer ain't waiting for me.

Maybe freedom's the thing that I gotta decree.

Maybe nobody's coming to throw me a line.

Maybe I gotta build my own bridge this time.

PRE-HOOK 2 — darker

I've been lost...

I've been low...

I've been places
I don't ever wanna go.

But there's something underneath all this pain...

Something ugly...

Something hungry...

Something still saying my name.

HOOK — HUGE

AM I STUCK HERE?

Tell me, is this where the road disappears?

IS THERE A WAY OUT?

'Cause I've been fighting through the blood and the years.

If I gotta crawl,
Then I'll crawl through hell.

If I gotta break these walls,
Then I'll break 'em myself.

And if there's still one round
Left in this old dog's fight—

THEN LET THE WHOLE FUCKING WORLD
STEP INTO THE LIGHT.

'Cause I ain't dead...

NOT YET.

BRIDGE — QUIET / MENACING

They call it an old dog...

Like old means finished.

Like scars mean weakness.

Like pain means diminished.

But I've learned something
These years couldn't teach me before—

You don't need a map
When you're willing
To make the road.

So...

You wanna know if I've got anything left?

...

Come find out.

BREAKDOWN — CHOPPER / EXPLOSIVE

OLD DOG!

NEW TEETH!

OLD SCARS!

NEW BEAT!

OLD LIFE!

NEW PLAN!

I'M STILL—

A FUCKING MAN!

You thought I was finished?

NO.

You thought I was buried?

NO.

You thought I was broken?

NO.

I was learning where the pressure goes!

Now—

BACK!

OFF!

WATCH!

ME!

TURN!

EVERY!

LOSS!

INTO!

LEGACY!

I got rounds!

I GOT ROUNDS!

I got rounds still left in me!

You can count me out—

BUT YOU BETTER COUNT CAREFULLY!

'Cause this old dog learned some new tricks...

And if you wanna see
what the hell I've been saving—

COME GET BIT.

FINAL HOOK — MASSIVE / ANTHEMIC

AM I STUCK HERE?!

NO!

This ain't where my story disappears!

IS THERE A WAY OUT?!

HELL YEAH—

I'll build one through the fear!

If I gotta crawl,

THEN I'LL CRAWL!

If I gotta fight,

THEN I'LL BRAWL!

If I gotta fall,

THEN I'LL GET BACK UP!

I've been running on empty
but I ain't run out of luck!

I've got scars on my soul
and a fire in my eyes—

I've been lost in the dark
but I'm done asking why!

You can bury the man
but you better understand—

SOMETIMES THE GRAVE
IS WHERE THE FUCKING WARRIOR
LEARNS TO STAND!