Dust on the Keys, I Rise

Verse 1

I came up where the floor got stains

Cardboard dreams and a cracked-back frame

Piano loop chopped like an old soul tape

Dust in the air when the first bars shake

Mama said, “Keep your head straight, son”

So I kept that look when the hard nights come

Same block, same steps, same worn-out door

Still I move like I know there’s more

Cold-hand mornings, black coffee gone

Pocket full of change and a stubborn song

I seen them smiles turn quick to frost

So I learned real fast what the silence cost

Pre-Chorus

Now the snare hit clean

And the room lean in

Heart stay calm

But the weight comes in

Hear that slide when I move

I don’t talk too much

Let the eyes say enough

When the doubt run up

Chorus

Dust on the keys, I rise

No sleep in my eyes

Steel in my step, I glide

Dust on the keys, I rise

Dust on the keys, I rise

I been through the fire

Still I keep my pride

Dust on the keys, I rise

Verse 2

They want a quick win, I want a real one

Built from the basement, now I feel some

Every scar got a story under that skin

Every wrong turn taught me where to begin

I don’t chase noise, I move with purpose

Same old hustle, just a new surface

Snare crack sharp and the bass line bend

Like the past and the future trying to meet again

Late train rides, blue light, tired eyes

Notebook full of truth and a few lost tries

I seen the fake shine fade in the rain

So I keep it rough, let it cut like a blade

Pre-Chorus

Now the snare hit clean

And the room lean in

Heart stay calm

But the weight comes in

Hear that slide when I move

I don’t talk too much

Let the eyes say enough

When the doubt run up

Chorus

Dust on the keys, I rise

No sleep in my eyes

Steel in my step, I glide

Dust on the keys, I rise

Dust on the keys, I rise

I been through the fire

Still I keep my pride

Dust on the keys, I rise

Bridge

Sax cry soft in the back of the smoke

Like a memory reaching for a better hope

I was low, I know

Still I found my voice

Now I stand in the frame

With a harder choice

Final Chorus

Dust on the keys, I rise

No sleep in my eyes

Steel in my step, I glide

Dust on the keys, I rise

Dust on the keys, I rise

I been through the fire

Still I keep my pride

Dust on the keys, I rise