They never saw me coming

Lyrics

They saw the dirt upon my shoes But never saw the road I'd choose They counted every time I'd fall But never thought I'd rise at all [Verse 1] I grew up where the streetlights died Where dreams got buried just to survive Mama worked nights, I learned to wait With hunger in my bones and a heart full of faith They laughed at the holes in my only jeans Said, "Boy, quit chasing those foolish dreams" I kept my head down, swallowed my pride Built a whole damn future they couldn't see inside [Verse 2] I knocked on doors till my knuckles bled Heard a thousand no's, still moved ahead They saw a nobody, another lost cause I saw a kingdom behind those walls I slept on floors with my coat for a bed Had bills on the table and fear in my head But every time life tried breaking my spine I stood back up and said, "This one's mine" [Pre-Chorus] You can bury a seed beneath concrete But you can't kill the roots underneath You can tell a man he'll never be free But you don't get to decide what he'll be [Chorus] They never saw me coming Never heard that thunder running I was building in the dark While they were betting I'd fall apart They never saw me rising Through the smoke, beyond the sirens I was born without a crown But you can't keep a fighter down They never saw me coming! [Verse 3] Now the same ones who wouldn't shake my hand Want a front-row seat to where I stand Funny how respect starts showing its face When the kid they ignored wins the race But I don't need revenge, I don't need applause I remember every scar and what it cost I bought my mama a house with a garden out back And watched her cry where the roses sat [Verse 4] I still wear the watch that my father gave Before the world put flowers on his grave He said, "Son, don't let the world make you cold The richest man ain't the one with the gold" So I keep my people, I keep my name I don't let the money rearrange my face 'Cause the boy who was hungry still lives in me And he knows what a dollar can never be [Climax] I WAS THE KID THEY LEFT OUT IN THE RAIN THE NAME THEY FORGOT, THE FACE WITHOUT FAME THE HAND THEY REFUSED, THE DREAM THEY DENIED THE ONE WHO KEPT WALKING WITH NOTHING INSIDE I BUILT FROM THE ASHES, I LEARNED FROM THE PAIN I TURNED EVERY LOSS INTO SOMETHING I GAINED I DIDN'T NEED LUCK, DIDN'T WAIT FOR A SIGN I JUST KEPT SHOWING UP, ONE DAY AT A TIME AND IF YOU'RE OUT THERE WITH YOUR BACK TO THE WALL IF THEY SAY YOU'RE TOO SMALL, IF THEY WAIT FOR YOUR FALL DON'T GIVE THEM YOUR FUTURE, DON'T HAND THEM YOUR NAME YOU'RE MORE THAN THE PLACE OR THE PAIN THAT YOU CAME FROM [Final Chorus] They never saw me coming Never heard that thunder running I was building in the dark While they were betting I'd fall apart They never saw me rising Through the smoke, beyond the sirens I was born without a crown But you can't keep a fighter down They never saw me coming!