They said I talked too much

They said I

They Said yea

They said I talked too much dreamed too big

Felt too deep acted like a kid

Every flaw was a weapon they could use against me

Every wound became a reason they never could accept me

The voices got loud started living in my brain

Long after they were gone but the whispers said the same

Started believin every hateful word they threw

Lookin in the mirror I'd forgotten what was true

Growing up a boy different was okay

Or so I told myself while still hearin every day

Shut up Give up

Get lost You're soft

Disgrace Waste of space

Play in traffic Go away

Little wounds that cut in a hundred different ways

But somewhere in the darkness underneath all the fear

A stubborn little spark that refused to disappear

When they tell you you're broken

When they say you don't belong

Turn the pain into fuel and prove them all wrong

Hold your head high shake off the pain

You've survived every storm and still you remain

When they call you a failure when they say you won't win

Remember the strength you carry within

You've been beaten down and it's all you know

But keep climbing higher don't stop or let go

The view gets brighter the weight gets lighter

Your future gets closer each and every day

Rise above the darkness

And do it anyway

Then came school but the story stayed the same

Different hallway different faces same name same blame

Teachers saw distraction never saw the fight

Never saw the kid in the day barely surviving at night

Sat in the back trying not to be seen

Hauntin the halls of the same routine

Was outcast and different so they try to provoke

The white kid with wounds that nobody spoke

Was tested each day and written off fast

Like any future I'd have would be judged by my past

You'll never be nothin

You'll never belong

The world's gonna break you and prove you were wrong

Those words hit different when still finding your name

Tryna build an identity while drowning in shame

Every insult became another brick in the wall

Every setback a reason they cheered for my fall

But iron gets forged in the hottest of flames

And now I'm the hunter no longer the game

They built a cage from every doubt thrown my way

But I broke every bar and survived anyway

Every mountain gets higher

Every mountain gets higher

Every battle gets long

Every battle gets long

With every step forward prove the critics are wrong

Hold your head high shake off the pain

You've survived every storm and still you remain

When they call you a failure when they say you won't win

Remember the strength you carry within

You've been beaten down and it's all you know

But keep climbing higher don't stop or let go

The view gets brighter the weight gets lighter

Your future gets closer each and every day

Rise above the darkness

And do it anyway

Ohhhhh

You are more than what they called you

Ohhhhh

You are more than what they showed you

Now I'm a man and now I'm a dad

Tryna' be the example that I never had

Still hear the critics they just changed their names

Strangers exes and fools all playing the same games

Still got told I wasn't worth the time

Wasn't worth the effort wasn't worth the climb

Even watched my mother walk away again

Not just from me but from my children

That pain hits different when you're not on your own

When it's not just your heart breaking alone

I wanted to hate I wanted revenge

I wanted to carry every wound to the end

But healing ain't weakness and forgiveness ain't defeat

The best you can do take the wounds off repeat

I chose to build instead of break to love instead of hate

And every day I wake up and decide my own fate

Because my worth is my own not up for debate

Listen if you've been told you're not enough enduring a world that is violent and rough

If friends have betrayed you stabbed you in the back and each day breathin's just another attack

If hate and neglect are all you been shown and you been left to survive all on your own

If family hurt you and threw you away get back on your feet and do it anyway

Hold your head high shake off the pain

Survived every storm and still you remain

When they call you a failure when they say you won't win

Remember the strength you carry within

You've been beaten down and it's all you know

But keep climbing higher don't stop or let go

The view gets brighter the weight gets lighter

Your future gets closer each and every day

So hold your head high

Ohhhhh

Do it anyway

Anyway Anyway

Despite what they may say

Do it Anyway

Do it anyway

Do it anyway