[Intro — Spoken] This is the real story — no glam, no glitter, just the climb. (Ad-libs: yeah, listen) [Verse 1 — Descent] Wild boy nights, satin shirts, bottles loud like thunder drums, Club lights, different sheets, every dawn another numb. Thirty-pack pockets, weight in the trunk, we moved for the thrill, Sniff-sniff to soften edges, cold fast fixes, empty till. Bid after bid, county benches, they knew my name in the cells, Notorious in Mass., paper headlines, whispered yells. Girls on hotel beds, glitter in hair, I chased eclipse highs, I traded lullabies for flashing signs and alibis. But behind the velvet ropes, a picture on a shelf — a small hand, A daughter’s face taped to the mirror, a promise I couldn't stand. [Pre-Chorus ] I hit the concrete, tasted steel, still I breathed and planned, I hit the bottom, counted breaths, but still I stand. (repeat) Hands to the sky but feet on the ground, I learned to understand, I hit the bottom, looked up, said loud — still I stand. [Chorus — Hook (single repeatable line)] They'll remember my name ’cause I rose, not fell. (chant) They'll remember my name — I rose, not fell. (Ad-libs: rise, rise) [Verse 2 — The Turn / Near-Death] Hospital beeps like metronomes, white light cutting slow, Cold IV, foam at the mouth, I watched the room go low. A nurse shook my shoulder, the air tasted like a bell, I cupped a tiny photo on the nightstand — that face, that spell. Last breath hanging like a coin, I flipped it and I chose, Casket thoughts at the doorway, the reaper at my nose. Court letters in my jacket, a cell key on the chain, For a second I saw everything — the losses and the pain. Then a whisper from that photo, small laugh across the air, I swallowed fate, I grabbed the line, traded poison for repair. [Bridge — Cinematic Turning Point] One sober sunrise — cracked sky, blue through the blinds, First AA hand-shake, names and numbers, honest lines. I called her at noon, voice shaky, said "Daddy's coming home," Filed the court papers, dropped the bottle, started picking up the phone. A meeting, a sponsor, a room with plastic chairs, I learned to own the past, to trade my demons for my prayers. [Verse 3 — Recovery / Concrete Actions] First sober sunrise — I painted the porch, swept the porch light clear, Took a job that bruised my hands but healed the hardest year. Wrote letters to the judge, mailed them with my steady pen, Volunteer nights at the shelter, teaching kids a different end. I picked up her little sneaker, dusted off a kinder day, Signed the custody forms, kept my word, learned how to stay. Courtroom stamps, the loud gavel, paper weight turned to plan, From notorious headlines to a father holding his young hand. I built a ledger of small wins — AA check-ins, sober nights, Coffee at sunrise, bedtime stories, traded bars for light. [Chorus — Hook Variation with Callback] They'll remember my name ’cause I rose, not fell. They'll remember my name — I rose, not fell. Still I stand — still I stand