(Intro)
Yeah...
Porch light still on, dog at the door, radio low
This one’s for the man who taught me how to stand when the cold wind blows
I keep your picture by the dashboard, diesel on my hands
I speak your name soft — Uncle, I try to understand
(Verse 1)
You said, "Head up, kid," like a line I learned to spit
Kept your laugh in my pocket, kept your rhythm in my grip
Sunday ribs on the grill, Zippo catching sparks at night
You taught me how to turn a bruise into a reason to fight
Smell of diesel at your truck, dented bumper, crooked grin
You kissed the porch light, said, "Boy, keep your steady in"
Folded flag on Mom’s lap, edges cut like a hush
I trace the threads with fingers that still can’t face the rush
Bullets cracked the dark, but you kept your back to the sky
You gave a map of courage — said, "Nephew, learn to fly"
(Chorus)
Unc — flame don't die
I carry you, I ride
Your name in my fight, your light in my night
Unc — flame don't die
I carry you, I ride
Now I rise — that’s how you stay alive
(Verse 2)
Mornings taste like burnt coffee from the mug you left behind
The dented lighter, cracked radio, a five-dollar find
You taught me to patch the pain, stitch the silence with a grin
Told me, "Don’t fold to fear," then you left with a salute and a chin
I rap small truths into big crowds, your cadence in my flow
Sound of your boots on gravel when the trailers were slow
War took a body, left the habit — poker hands, old jokes
Left me with your phrasebook, your stubborn, patient notes
At night I count the sirens, count my breath, count every scar
I feel you in the throttle, in the passenger seat, in my car
(Bridge — Reply from Uncle in Heaven)
Nephew, hear me clear — I’m the hush behind your breath
I’m the click of that lighter, the laugh that outlived death
When you spit my name, I ride every rhyme like a patrol
I held your hand from a distance; I carried you whole
Remember the Times you hid behind my jacket, tiny and loud?
I taught you how to stand in storms; you made me proud
That flag? It’s heavy in hands, light in the place where I sit
You feel the weight of loss — I feel the pride when you spit
So when the night tightens, and the chorus cuts like glass
Say my name like a bullet turned to brass
(Call-and-Response Hook — Uncle / Nephew)
Unc: I’m watchin’ — steady, I’m here in the wind
Nephew: I’m better — carrying you under my skin
Unc: I’m proud — don’t stop, keep that fire lit
Nephew: I’ll move — 'til every promise finds its fit
(Chorus — Final Variation)
Unc — flame don't die
I carry you, I ride
Your name in my fight, your light in my night
Unc — flame don't die
I carry you, I rise
I keep your heartbeat in my stride — that’s how you survive
(Outro)
This ain’t goodbye, it’s a louder kind of vow
I lace my verses with your lessons — keep living them now
When I win, I put your cap on that microphone stage
Unc, you ain’t gone — you shifted names, you filled my page
Yeah...
Lights down, engine hums, I push, I press, I try
You taught
