Before The Flame

Yeah

Some people are family by blood

And some people you choose along the way

Shared meals in a cold room,

radiator hiss No money in our pockets,

just a bucket list One cheap microphone plugged into the wall Writing

rhymes on the step,

waiting for the call We split the last dollar,

we split the old dream Before the bright lights,

we were just a team

A thousand hands reach out when you finally win But I count

on one hand who was there back then

They see the crown,

they see the gold on the shelf But you knew my soul

before I knew myself

Money changes the circles,

time changes the frame

The world only loved me

when they knew my name

But you stood beside me

through fire and mud

Yeah, some bonds are deeper,

we are more than blood

Now it's sold-out shows and the contract is signed

New friends in the lobby leaving shadows behind Everyone wants a favor,

everyone wants a piece But you never asked for a thing to

increase

No envy in your eyes when the cameras are bright Just the

same brother talking late in the night

Then the headlines hit and the sponsors withdrew

The crowd disappeared from the front of the queue

My phone stayed silent,

the penthouse went cold

The stories of ruin were traded and sold

But you knocked on my door with a coat on your arm

Ready to stand in the eye of the storm

They celebrate the victories,

they toast to the high But a real one is there when

you're ready to die Yeah,

the storm cleared out the crowd in the end

And left me standing

with my only true friend

Money changes the circles,

time changes the frame

The world only loved me when they knew my name

But you stood beside me through fire and mud

Yeah, some bonds are deeper,

we are more than blood

More than blood, brother

Yeah, we made it

Thank you for staying