On The Concrete

[Intro]

I'm gonna tell you guys a story real quick

Something that I thought you might find interesting

Sometimes in life, we look for something, for a real long time

But it turns out to be right beneath your nose

[Hook (2x)]

Now I saw a smile and the pain from his eyes go

As he stretched his arms skyward, barely awake

And all of his life's pain forever from inside drained

Down on the concrete right there where he lived

(Alright one more time, let's build it)

[Verse 1]

The night of June 3rd out in the dark

I was jogging along this old road, south of the park

I came across a man; old, cold, lonely, and ill

With nothing left in his bottle but he was holding it still

Normally well I'd just toss him a buck to help him and go

But for some strange reason something compelled me to slow

He looked up and I asked him if he believed in God or in Hell

He responded if there truly was a God, he could probably tell

Cause up to now, he hasn't seen much proof of that likes

He told me of a son he used to have who used to ride bikes

But then he got into this gang of desolate thugs

He wore mugs and mugged, then he started messing with drugs

He got high and sold crack with a pocket of cash

Mr. Tough guy acting all cocky and brash

Until finally his son found himself there in the track

Of a bullet from a gat, coming through the air at his back

I said that's funny, I knew someone just like that

He was bullied when he was young and never did fight back

He figured cause he was so small, he couldn't win in a fight

And his parents didn't care if he came in the end of the night

So he just stayed gone, and he wound up in jail

He didn't even have a friend to call to round up his bail

Until he met this dude in for the same reason as he

Who told him "I can really help you, just believe me and see"

They kept in touch after the court days, probation and such

He taught him how to think and not be complacent as much

He started changing, his boy said he needed to choose

For the first time, he contemplated leaving them dudes

Until the evening I was chilling on the lawn with my folks

I saw him and his friend walking as the Honda approached

They missed his friend but hit him in his heart and his head

I ran up while he held him in his arms as he bled

And that's when...

[Hook]

[Verse 2]

Now he only responded with the bitterness he'd sown so dense

So I left and called my homie's friend cause we had grown close since

I invited him jogging with me through the park and like us

They sat and talked about the past and how hard his life was

Except my friend is something different, he stayed with him there

And brought comfort to his shadows of shame and despair

He showed him a depth of compassion that he never had seen

He cried and under the stars, together they dreamed

It wasn't but a month later that it happened at all

I'd melt down by that man on his back by a wall

He pulled gently my shirt collar, drew me in near

Then whispered an old raspy "thank you" in my ear

I looked up, the last sun beam struggled and died

Then felt the soft rain drizzle from the rumbling sky

Upon a man on his back upon the end of his days

From whom they said hope was absent and redemption had strayed

A life full of poor choices and his pension is paid

Now he's better off dead, he only gets in the way

But...

[Hook(4x)]

[Outro]

As he stretched his arms skyward

As he stretched his arms skyward, barely awake

(2x)

There's a difference between what we know, and what there is

Even when we think we gotta handle something, they're all so different

I hope you [?], I really hope that you understand me

And I hope that you enjoyed yourselves, I really hope that you enjoyed yourselves

But you know we gotta do it one more time for the [?] here we go

Everybody sing it loud now, yeah!!!