Welcome to the Life You Left Alone

Verse

Yo, it’s J Dog, sittin’ in the back of the basement,

Countin’ echoes in the dark, so vacant,

Life’s a locked door—every knock, I’m bracin’,

Waitin’ for a face I erased in every day spent.

Popsicle sticks and empty chairs at the table,

I built a castle of excuses outta all my failed fables.

Mirror’s got a crack, but I stare just the same,

Hopin’ for a ghost that never cared for my name.

You said life’s complicated—nah, guess you’re right,

'Cause you complicated mine every day and every night.

Spoke to the wall, left my voice in the drywall,

Now you show up knockin’ like you never missed a call?

Chorus

Where were you when the world went cold?

When the fire in my chest turned stone?

Now you wanna say hi, say you tried, say you grown?

Welcome to the life you left alone.

Verse

You see the trophies on the shelf but you never saw the game,

See the scars on my soul but you never felt the pain,

J Dog learned to walk without a shadow by my side,

Now you come around actin’ like you down to ride.

I remember birthdays—wishin’ on the wrong candles,

Now I blow ‘em out alone, tryin’ not to dismantle.

Your voice is a stranger in my own living room,

You said, “Son”—I flinch, the word’s a costume. Don’t get it twisted, I’m not here to throw stones,

But life taught me to build, and I built this on my own.

Your silhouette’s familiar, but your story’s full of blanks,

Chorus

Where were you when the world went cold?

When the fire in my chest turned stone?

Now you wanna say hi, say you tried, say you grown?

Welcome to the life you left alone.

Bridge

Maybe forgiveness is a song I ain’t learned yet,

Maybe hope is a gift I ain’t earned yet.

But lookin’ in your eyes, I see the years that I missed,

Every tear I dismissed, every fear on my list.

We could start from scratch, but the paper’s all torn,

Can’t draw a family portrait when the canvas is worn.

So here’s the truth, raw and unblessed—

J Dog’s still here, heart pounding in his chest.

You finally came to see me after all these gray skies,

But the hardest part of growing up is sayin’ goodbye.

Yeah…