Lyrics

Hook
Seventeen years too soon, staring through steel bars
Thinking 'bout the choices that carried me this far
Young soul, old pain, trying hard to survive
Learning some mistakes can change the course of your life
Seventeen years too soon, praying through the night
Searching for forgiveness underneath fluorescent lights
Can't rewind the clock, can't undo what's been done
Just a young man wishing he could outrun what he'd become
Verse 1
Mama cried the day they closed that heavy door
Said, "Baby, this ain't what I raised you for"
I couldn't even look her in the eyes that day
Too much guilt sitting in the words I couldn't say
Started with a crowd and a need to belong
Trying to look tough when everything felt wrong
One bad decision turned into another
Till I couldn't recognize myself or my brothers
Now the nights feel longer than the years behind me
And every memory keeps coming back to find me
Thinking 'bout the future I threw away fast
Watching tomorrow disappear into the past
Hook
Seventeen years too soon, staring through steel bars
Thinking 'bout the choices that carried me this far
Young soul, old pain, trying hard to survive
Learning some mistakes can change the course of your life
Verse 2
The old heads told me slow down, I never listened
Thought I was invincible, blind to the consequences
Now every lesson hits harder than before
When freedom becomes something you're longing for
I miss family dinners and summer afternoons
Miss hearing laughter drift across familiar rooms
Miss being able to walk beneath the open sky
Without walls reminding me of every reason why
But somewhere in the struggle I found reflection
Started rebuilding my direction
Because a man ain't only what he's done wrong
He's also what he becomes moving forward
Bridge
Somebody out there still believes in me
Even when I stopped believing myself
And maybe redemption starts the moment
You stop blaming everybody else
Final Hook
Seventeen years too soon, but my story ain't done
There's still another chapter waiting to be written someday
The past may follow me wherever I go
But it don't have to decide who I become
Seventeen years too soon, looking toward the light
Holding onto hope with everything inside
One prayer, one step, one day at a time
Trying to turn this pain into a different kind of life
Outro
The cell grows quiet...
The night moves slow...
And somewhere beyond these walls...
A better version of me...
Is still trying to grow.