[Intro - Spoken Word over vinyl crackle and a single, melancholic Rhodes chord]

They tell you, "Just be happy."
Like it's a switch. Like it's a choice you make when you're buying groceries.
But they never tell you what to do when the shelves are empty.


[Verse 1]

Ever seen a hundred fifty rejection letters stack up?
Ever seen a vision gettin' vivid then the funds back up?
Algorithm got 'em winning, I'm just spinning in the same spot
Pen is bleeding on the page, I'm filling up the graveyard with the brain-rot
I'm an anomaly, honestly, this economy's a comedy
Monopoly money, they honor the phony, I'm on it, but my wallet is on a diet, B
I'm tryna be what my momma could see, a prodigy, probably
But the prophecy got a lotta me fighting off the lobotomy of the 9-to-5, I gotta be...
More than a number, more than the thunder that's under the breath of the boss
Calculate the cost, every line I cross is another line lost
The effort is endless, the message is breathless, I'm restless
Pretending this checklist is getting me somewhere... guess it's just practice.


[Pre-Chorus]
And the ghost in the code sings a perfect melody
While I'm chasing a ghost of the man I was meant to be

[Chorus 1]
Ever seen a dream deferred until it's rusted?
Ever seen a spirit start with fire, end up dusted?
Don't that shit make you question?
Don't that shit make you tired?
Oh it does... that's the lesson.
I know people still running from that fire.

[Verse 2]
I remember Mike. Top of the class, a real architect.
Sketched a whole city on a napkin, said "I'll mark my check."
Got the scholarship, the whole nine, family crying at the send-off
Came back four years later, student loans were the big boss.
Now he's driving for a ride-share, talking 'bout his "side-hustle"
Same fire in his eyes, but it's fighting through a new muscle...
The one you get from holding back, from swallowing the pride down
From hearing "no" so many times it starts to be the only sound.
He showed me an app he's building, it was brilliant, it was magic
Then he closed the phone and said, "But who's gon' fund it? It's tragic."
We just sat there in the silence of his pre-owned 2010
He asked me if I'm happy... I just told him, "Let's pretend."

[Pre-Chorus]
And the ghost in the code built a city overnight
While he's stuck in the traffic, just staring at the light

[Chorus 2]
Ever seen a promise break itself in two?
Ever seen the finish line keep running right along with you?
Don't that shit make you hollow?
Don't that shit make you cold?
Oh it does... hard to swallow.
I know people whose story gets old.


[Bridge - Spoken Word, beat strips back to bass and atmospheric pads]

They sell you the dream. The hustle. The grind.
They show you the highlight reel, but they cut out the rewinds.
They don't show the nights you stare at a blank screen, feeling like a fraud.
They don't show you the bank account that makes you question God.
They say, "What you willing to die for?"
I'm just trying to figure out what I'm willing to live for.
Is it this? This... digital applause? This race against a machine with no pause?
Is this strength? Or just the motherfucking strength of habit?
They ask if I'm happy... I'm a dog still chasing the rabbit.

[Outro]
(Melodic, layered vocals, fading out)
Don't that shit make you... real?
Don't that shit make you... feel?
Oh it does...