criminal record

Lyrics

(Verse 1)
Step into the courtroom, smells like cheap bleach and dust
Underneath the fluorescent hum, a system built on trust
But there ain’t no trust left here, just a stack of yellow sheets
Twenty-eight lines long, echoing back from the streets
They see twenty-eight numbers, twenty-eight times I fell
Twenty-eight reasons to lock me in a concrete cell
They start reading the docket, the state versus my name
But they don’t read the hunger, the survival, or the pain.
It started with the names on the paper, the scary ass crowd
People who whispered threats until the silence got too loud
Had to build a wall of anger just to keep the wolves at bay
But the court drew a line, told me I had to stay away
No contact orders stacked up like bricks in a wall
But when you’re living in a trap, there’s no room not to fall.
​(Chorus)
And they wanna label me a criminal, stamp it on my chest
Put me in a category, separate me from the rest
Yeah, they wanna label me a criminal, write it down in ink
Never asking how I got here, never stopping once to think
Just twenty-eight marks on a government file
A decade of survival on a long, dark mile.
​(Verse 2)
"Violation of protection," that’s what the bailiff read
But they don’t know the sleepless nights, the voices in my head
They don’t know the desperation when the past comes crawling back
When you’re running from a shadow on a one-way track
Then they talk about the assaults, the fights I had to fight
When the world comes pushing hard, you gotta stand up for your right
I wasn't looking for a war, but I sure as hell won't cower
When you're backed into a corner, anger is your only power
And yeah, there's petty theft, a couple items from the store
When the pockets are empty and you're staring at the floor
Just trying to get by, trying to find a little peace
While the pressure keeps on climbing and there's never a release.
​(Chorus)
And they wanna label me a criminal, stamp it on my chest
Put me in a category, separate me from the rest
Yeah, they wanna label me a criminal, write it down in ink
Never asking how I got here, never stopping once to think
Just twenty-eight marks on a government file
A decade of survival on a long, dark mile.
​(Verse 3)
Let's talk about the freedom that they took away from me
Two thousand and fourteen was the last time I was free
To sit behind the wheel, to watch the yellow lines fly past
Twelve years of walking, twelve years of moving fast
No license in my pocket, just a heavy weight to bear
Trying to get to work, trying to get just anywhere
Every cop car that I pass makes my chest tighten up
Just another reason for them to come and disrupt
They call it a privilege, but it’s a lifeline in the dirt
How you supposed to build a life when every step is hurt?
They want to keep you down, make it hard to rise again
Then they act surprised when you end up back in the pen.
​(Bridge)
But a paper record doesn't show the scars upon my skin
It doesn't show the battles that I fought and had to win
It doesn't show the times I tried to turn the wheel around
Only to find the bridge was burned and crumbling to the ground
Scary people in my rearview, court dates on my mind
Trying to find a future in the wreckage left behind.
​(Verse 4)
So go ahead and read the list, make your judgment from the bench
I’ve been standing in the rain, I’ve been digging in the trench
Twenty-eight records, yeah, I own what I have done
But I’m more than just a target standing underneath the sun
I’m a survivor of the storm, a product of the grind
And there’s a human being underneath the labels that you find.
No license in my wallet, no easy way to go
But I'm still standing upright, and that's one thing they should know.
​(Outro)
Yeah, label me a criminal.
Write it in your books.
Judge me by my history and the way my record looks.
But you can't lock down the spirit, and you can't erase the soul
I’m taking back the pieces, and I’m gonna make them whole.
Twenty-eight records.
Still standing.