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](x2) 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 got 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](x4) [Outro] As he stretched his arms skyward As he stretched his arms skyward, barely awake (x2) 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!!!