I Belong to Myself

[Verse 1]
I learned to read a room by the set of a jaw
Kept my back to the wall, kept my hands off the cards
Some years took their payment before payday came
I walked out with less, but I still had my name

[Pre-Chorus]
Every closed door left a mark on the frame
Every hard mile taught me what I could claim

[Chorus]
I’m still here, and I know what I’m worth
I took the hard road, I carried the hurt
You can count me out, I’ll stand up again
I’m a man who can face where he’s been
No borrowed pride, no need to pretend
I belong to myself in the end

[Verse 2]
I’ve said the wrong words, let good chances go
Watched a promise turn thin in the cold
But I owned every piece I could name as my own
Made a steady kind of strength out of stone

[Pre-Chorus]
I don’t call it easy, I don’t call it fair
I just know I’m still standing here

[Chorus]
I’m still here, and I know what I’m worth
I took the hard road, I carried the hurt
You can count me out, I’ll stand up again
I’m a man who can face where he’s been
No borrowed pride, no need to pretend
I belong to myself in the end

[Bridge]
I used to wait for a hand to pull me through
Then I found the one thing I could always do:
Tell the truth, take the weight, make a choice
And keep my own name in my own voice

[Final Chorus]
I’m still here, and I know what I’m worth
I took the hard road, I carried the hurt
You can count me out, I’ll stand up again
I’m a man who can face where he’s been
No borrowed pride, no need to pretend
I belong to myself in the end

[Outro]
I belong to myself
I’m still here