Always Coming Back Home To You

(album: Seven's Travels - 2003)

To all my killers and my hundred dollar billers
To emo kids that got too many feelings

He held the register open while he counted her change
I was next in line which meant I was invisible
From where I stood I could see that the till was full
He didn't look the type to play superhero
So I stepped forth and paid for my cigarettes
Crept out the store's front door to chase a little breath
Bangles in my head, shake the song off
Another manic Monday night, its gonna be a long walk

A car pulled up, a fixed up Cutlass
A woman and a child climbed out and left it running
They went inside of the deli, placed an order
With the extra dollar fifty bottled water cause the daughter's picky
When they came out mommy gave me a glance
That said man can love an angel but he's got to take the chance
Already knew the deal, I lit one up and walked
So they got back in they Oldsmobile, belted up, and took off

Thug love on the corner by the Walgreens
Looking at me like I'm just another square Saltine
As I get closer I notice they showing each other sketches
Out of their notebooks, reminded me of my old roots

I walk past with a nod and a reminisce
Swear to god hip hop and comic books was my genesis
Respect the life and the fashions of the children
It's the only culture I've got, exactly what we've been building

All of a sudden I'm in front of some man
No, he's a young'un, but he's got a gun in his hand
He looks fifteen, he looks frantic, no, he looks afraid
Immediately apprehensive 'til I heard him say
"Do you want this? It's not mine, I promise
I found it on my block in between a couple garages
Didn't want to leave it for a child to stumble over
I don't even know how to hold it"

It was a thirty eight, the poor man's machete
Held it in my hand, thinking damn man it's heavier than expected
Wedged it behind my belt buckle
Knowing that it's evil, even thought that I could smell trouble
The extra strength felt weak
But over there on the corner saw what I needed
And proceeded to cross the street
Put the heat in the mail box to lose it
Figured that the post office knows what's best to do with it

Mosey down the road, thinking about the old
I used to roam this zone through two feet of snow
Right here, this used to be a record shop
I've gotten love, I've gotten drunk, I've gotten beat up in that parking lot
I've had my Lake Street pride for 3 decades
These alleyways, and these streetlights have seen my best days
Before I was a germ learning how to misbehave
All the way to the grave, south side is my resting place

Took a right on Lyndale I'm getting near
But then the road became empty and the people disappeared
The clouds ran away, opened up the sky
And one by one I watched every constellation die
And there I was frozen, standing in my backyard
Face to face, eye to eye, staring at the last star
I should've known, walked all the way home
To find that she wasn't here, I was still all alone

No matter where I am, no matter what I do
I'm always coming back home to you
They can leave me for dead they can take away my true
I'm always coming back home to you
Through the lies and the sins that ride the wind that blew
I'm always coming back home to you
As sure as the life in the garden that you grew
I'm always coming back home to you
No matter where I am, no matter what I do
I'm always coming back home to you
If only I had known what you already knew
I'm always coming back home to you
From the heaven I've had to the hell I been through
I'm always coming back home to you
I'm always coming back home to you