[Intro]
Flickering streetlamp hums over a crowded page, chalk dust on my sleeve
Moonlight on the bus stop bench, I map a budget I can believe
[Verse 1]
Books on one shelf, groceries on another, coins in a jar with a crack
I weigh a cup of tea against a lecture I can’t miss, I plan my track
Long walks past shuttered storefronts, shoes worn thin but dreams intact
Debt sits heavy in the notebook spine, but I won’t fold or look back
[Pre-Chorus]
Some days the numbers bend, some nights the hunger bites,
But I tally small wins: a grade, a call that finally rights
[Chorus]
We rise, we rise, through the thinning air and thinning cash
We push, we push, through every shadow of the debt that lasts
Hope keeps the meter running, resilience the beat of our hearts
We rise, we rise, and carry courage in our lungs like art
[Verse 2]
Skipped meals echo softly as I scribble plans for the next day
I haggle with the calendar, stretch hours like a thread to sew my way
A neighbor’s favor, a library lamp, a borrowed sigh of relief
I count a small victory: a passing grade, a cared-for belief
[Pre-Chorus]
Some nights the mind wanders far, some mornings the coffee is thin,
But I cradle the promise that I’m more than the sum of where I’ve been
[Chorus]
We rise, we rise, through the thinning air and thinning cash
We push, we push, through every shadow of the debt that lasts
Hope keeps the meter running, resilience the beat of our hearts
We rise, we rise, and carry courage in our lungs like art
[Bridge]
Debt is a heavy page, but the margins hold a spark,
I scribble future lines in the dark, I’m learning to leave a mark
[Chorus]
We rise, we rise, through the thinning air and thinning cash
We push, we push, through every shadow of the debt that lasts
Hope keeps the meter running, resilience the beat of our hearts
We rise, we rise, and carry courage in our lungs like art
[Outro]
One more step, one more grade, the road keeps turning bright and clear
Education’s a stubborn dawn, I’m here, I’m here, I’m here