[Intro]

[Intro] (Slow, haunting slide guitar and a heavy, echoing foot stomp) Mmm... Yeah. [Verse 1] (Gritty, low baritone voice, intimate and weathered) I’ve tasted the honey, I’ve stood in the sun Lived a hundred lifetimes while they just lived one I’ve seen the mountaintop, touched the promised land Held the rarest gold right here in my hand. But they only see the glory and the shine They don’t know the shadows on the other side of the line. [Verse 2] (Acoustic guitar picks up, stomp rhythm gets heavier) I’ve walked through valleys where the devil wouldn't go Carrying a heavy cross that nobody will know Seen the kind of darkness I pray you never see Locked it in a basement deep inside of me. Now there’s whispers in the holler, rumors in the town Folks who never bled just trying to drag me down. [Pre-Chorus] (Organ begins to hum quietly in the background) So before you point your finger, before you cast a stone You better check the glass inside your very own home. [Chorus] (Explodes with energy, heavy drums, passionate raspy vocals) 'Cause you ain't got the right to judge my soul! You ain't walked a mile down this jagged road You don't know the hell that I’ve been draggin' through So you can keep your whispers and your righteous point of view! The right ones love the man that they see And when the whole world breaks and I'm down on my knees... The only solid ground in this tragedy Is the blood and the heartbeat of my family. [Verse 3] (Music pulls back, pulsing bassline) When the bitter wind blew and the sky turned black I looked around to see who was watchin' my back The fair-weather friends, they scattered in the rain They only want the joy, they don't want the pain. But the blood and the chosen, they stood right there Said, "We're walking through the fire, brother, we don't care." [Pre-Chorus] (Organ swells louder, rising tension) So before you point your finger, before you cast a stone You better check the glass inside your very own home. [Chorus] (Massive sound, full Southern Gospel energy) 'Cause you ain't got the right to judge my soul! You ain't walked a mile down this jagged road You don't know the hell that I’ve been draggin' through So you can keep your whispers and your righteous point of view! The right ones love the man that they see And when the whole world breaks and I'm down on my knees... The only solid ground in this tragedy Is the blood and the heartbeat of my family. [Bridge] (Call and response with a Gospel Choir, testifying emotion) Let 'em talk! (Let 'em talk!) Let 'em stare! (Let 'em stare!) I don't need validation from a world that doesn't care! I got scars I earned! (Scars I earned!) I paid my dues! (Paid my dues!) I don't owe an explanation to the gossips in the pews! [Guitar Solo] (A dirty, crying slide-guitar solo over a heavy, stomping gospel beat) [Outro] (Stripped all the way down. Just the haunting slide guitar and the singer) Yeah, the right ones love me... Through the fire and the tragedy... They know the road. They know the man. All that matters... Is family. (Final deep foot stomp and silence) [End]