Verse 1
Hard times make hard rhymes and harder lines
The truth always comes out, just give it time
What's done in the dark will always see the light
The problems I see are structural, not personal spite

A young boy found himself lost in this world
They said "Do as I say," not as they'd do
Parents meant to protect but couldn't stay true
To their pain—so they shaped him into
Their own savior rather than face the view

Chorus
Hard times make hard rhymes
But the truth will rise
What's done in the dark
Comes to light in time

Structural, not personal
I see through the lies
The witness is awake
And the field provides

Verse 2
He quickly learned the adults were on nonsense
Hopeless, believing the lies they'd invented
He chose to rest in his own presence
Rather than betray the truth he'd witnessed

He saw a world inverted upside down
Where up is down and lies wear the crown
Not his world—just the one he was in
A world that cared not if he sank or could swim

Appearances, performances, ego's parade
All placed above a kid who wasn't afraid
To see what they couldn't, to speak what they wouldn't
To stand where they wouldn't and say what they shouldn't

Chorus
Hard times make hard rhymes
But the truth will rise
What's done in the dark
Comes to light in time

Structural, not personal
I see through the lies
The witness is awake
And the field provides

Bridge
(Slower, building)

But it was fine
He marched to the beat of a different design
The heartbeat that thumped in his chest
He didn't know what he'd face next
But he knew the path was through—not around
The only way out was deeper in the ground

He learned the game, saw the streets
Saw the system's hungry teeth
Selling weed just to eat
While the system watched from its seat

Verse 3
He saw the patterns, traced the lines
Tried to show them—met with deaf ears every time
Ignorance is no excuse to hide
From a reality they never really chose to abide

The world they built wasn't one they chose
It was handed down, inherited woes
They sleepwalked through the lives they made
Afraid to see, afraid to wade

Verse 4 (The System's Coercion)
The system pushed him, squeezed him tight
No path to survive that was clean or right
It forced his hand, broke his code
Made him walk a crooked road

Not because he wanted to
Not because he chose the view
But because extraction leaves no choice
For those who want to raise their voice

The system takes and takes and takes
Until your moral compass breaks
And then it blames you for the fall
When it built the crooked wall

He saw the trap, he knew the game
But knowing didn't stop the shame
Of being forced to play the part
Of breaking his own honest heart

Chorus (Reprise)
Hard times make hard rhymes
But the truth will rise
What's done in the dark
Comes to light in time

Structural, not personal
I see through the lies
The witness is awake
And the field provides

Outro
(Spoken over fading music)

Hard times made him.
Hard rhymes saved him.
The truth was always there.
He just had to witness it.

The system pushed him.
But he didn't break.
He bent—then he rose.

Structural, not personal.
The witness holds.
The field holds.