(Intro) Turn the beat down just a little bit. Let the truth breathe. Some nights don’t just end when the sun comes up… They follow you for the rest of your natural life. Ok here's how it went down...... (Verse 1) Eighteen summers old, man, my vision was blurred Just a kid high off cheap weed and the street word Pockets full of lint, stomach growling, feeling bold Looking for a quick score to keep out the winter cold Stumbled on the liquor store with bars on the glass Thought we had a master plan on how to make the cash Just a couple fools in oversized dickies and chucks Believing Hollywood lies about a quick buck Walked inside the counter, cold sweat on my skin That’s when the nightmare really had to begin Pulled the iron out, hands shaking like a leaf Trying to look like a savage, feeling like a thief "Open up the register," my voice cracked high Old man behind the counter didn’t even cry Just looked at me with sorrow, reaching for the tray Forty-seven dollars was the price of our decay. (Chorus) And forty-seven dollars took a lifetime away Swapped the sunshine for a cage and a cloudy day Fifteen years behind the wall, staring at the rust Turned a human being into memory and dust West Coast sunshine couldn't reach inside that cell Living in the shadow of a self-made hell. (Verse 2) My partner panicked, loud crack echoed in the store Old man hit the linoleum, crimson on the floor I froze in the moment, soul left my frame Nothing in this world ever gonna be the same Ran out to the civic with the engine running hot Screaming at the driver cause the old man got shot Sirens in the rear view, flashing red and blue Now we running from the ghosts of the damage that we do Foot down on the gas, hitting ninety down the strip Tires squealing hard, losing balance on the trip Helicopter overhead shining down the light Nowhere left to run in the middle of the night Cornered in an alleyway, metal blocking tight Pulled the weapons out, ready for a hopeless fight Staring down the barrel of a hundred state police Praying for a bullet just to bring my spirit peace. (Chorus) And forty-seven dollars took a lifetime away Swapped the sunshine for a cage and a cloudy day Fifteen years behind the wall, staring at the rust Turned a human being into memory and dust West Coast sunshine couldn't reach inside that cell Living in the shadow of a self-made hell. (Bridge) Fifteen years… You sit in that box long enough, the walls start talking to you. They remind you of the face. The face of a man who just wanted to live out his golden years in peace. For what? A crumpled twenty, two tens, and a five-dollar bill? Forty-seven dollars. I traded my youth, my freedom, and a man’s last breath for forty-seven dollars. Ain't no redemption song heavy enough to wash this clean. (Outro) Yeah… To the old man's family, I know sorry don’t bring him back. To the kids out there thinking this life is some kind of track— It ain't worth it. Forty-seven dollars.
