Kick

(album: Brave Faces Everyone - 2020)

When you saw your dad shoot up for the first time
It must've come as quite a shock
You sat numb in your room for hours
Ignoring the afternoon's drop-offs
You picture him, arms outstretched in a song
After Sunday school let out
He'd drive the family home
And you'd talk about Jesus

But 15 years can change a man
Alone in this wilderness

Say "keep your head up if you're not okay"
But not okay is what's expected
Claim you're a hero
If you could make it off the couch
You know the truth in what they say:
"The world's gonna kick you either way"

Now you're stuck in this routine
Trying to make something on your own
Your older brother fled the country
The cops are coming round your home
But Kaylee has a baby on the way
They're not gonna leave her a single mother
The dope was legal
But they roughed you up for selling on the side

20 years will change a man
10 with behavior is what you're looking at

Just keep your head down and you'll be okay
You're living up to what's expected
They'll claim you're nothing
When you're walking out the door
You know the truth in what they say:
"The world's gonna kick you either way"

And mom won't even come around most days
You pop your prescription and you put on a brave face
Zone out to the local AM station
Try not to think about next month's visitation

Saw you last week
We haven't talked since graduation
You're moving H with a guy to catch up
But it's clear you're using
I didn't have the guts to be a better friend
But what's another ten grand gonna fix in the end?

Say "keep your head up if you're not okay"
But not okay is what's expected
Claim you're a hero
But you died there on the couch
You knew the truth in what they say:
"The world's gonna kick you either way"