Mama Says

Squatting downtown without a dime to my name
watching cars and people pass by
To someone like me they all look the same
vacant faces like a deer in headlights
I can hear their footsteps like tires to the pavement
window-shopping every store
Selling premium healthcare, tropical vacations
all the things I know I will never afford

18 years old, fresh faced and defiant, I left everything I knew
with just the clothes on my back
With the sun on my face and the west coast calling
I was ever so confident I’d never lose track
But the years they pass, and not much to show
but these scars and memories
But I pick myself up, regain my composure
keep on living day to day

This is the price I pay, this is the path I chose now
pull the bootstraps up to my chin
Every worn out cliche that I've ever heard, yeah
It's kinda hard to start
when you don't know where to begin

Hey mama, you always said, life's a bitch, then you die
Hey mama, I never expected you'd be so goddamned right
Hey mama, you always said, life's a bitch, then you die
Hey mama, I never expected you'd be so goddamned right