Never Surrender

[Intro]
Now, what if home wasn’t where the heart is
You never had a canvas for your inner artist
What if strangers loved you when it got the hardest
They never knew you, yet somehow can move you to make it out regardless

[Verse 1]
Young girl, she was only maybe eight or nine
At 6:30, alarm became her favorite time
Put her pack on, headed down the city streets
Gotta get there early, if she didn’t then she didn’t eat
She loves school, love learning how to read and write
Love being loved from her Bally’s to Adidas stripes
Hard being dark, all you wanna see is light
Daughter-mom kind of bond, even though her teacher’s white
Now her home life, a different ball of wax
Mommy was always sick, if you would call it that
What she would call her home, I would call it shack
Heavy as the head as somebody who wears all the hats
She watch her little brother, she was the helping hand
Mom seemed under some hypnotic spell or trance
Pop’s was out the picture, popped for selling grams
Spoke in cold when she’s sad, no one she could telegram

[Chorus: Tarra Layne & Real Deal]
When hope is out of sight
We never surrender
[Nah we roll the wave with a spare
We know the journey is long, be strong
‘Cause the motivation is there]
We raise our fists and fight
We never surrender
[Nah we hold our heads to the sky ‘cause we’re ready to ride
We never surrender, we get up and fight]

[Verse 2]
She blew through the fifth grade, whizzing the middle school
Immune to the cruelty of kids and their ridicules
She joined every social club, even though she hated sports
She wanted the hoop team to be her only day in court
She had so many friends ‘cause she was genuine
High school and experience she wish would never end
Valedictorian honor role, yet again
Class, by unanimous, vote, made her the president
Back home was chaotic since her Gran passed
Like a ship at sea, praying for a landmass
Mom was high, her brother’s test scores were low
She worked the nightshift and tutored him before she go
Her dad’s only picture taken was a mugshot
Friend she lost in the paper that she just bought
She took the long way to stay away from drug spots
As the neighborhood serenaded her with gunshots

[Chorus: Tarra Layne & Real Deal]
When hope is out of sight
We never surrender
[Nah, we roll the wave with a spare
We know the journey is long, be strong
‘Cause the motivation is there]
We raise our fists and fight
We never surrender
[Nah, we hold our heads to the sky ‘cause we’re ready to ride
We never surrender, we get up and fight]

[Verse 3]
She graduated, started looking at some colleges
Her teachers were so proud of her accomplishments
She thank her Gran for making her never wanna quit
Girl who was lost at sea now on a scholarship
And when she picked her major, she chose to be a teacher
Stayed in the inner city, knowing that they would need her
She was there when they gave her brother his diploma
Mom working on two years of being sober
Dad was out, and she helped him to get off the streets
He gotta job, a small apartment, he’s on his feet
She thought about her past, thought of that little girl
Thought of the caring-people who showed her a different world

[Outro]
So maybe home isn’t where the heart is
But you can always find a canvas for your inner artist
‘Cause loving someone when it gets the hardest
Gives them a reason and make them believe they can make it out regardless