[Verse 1] I came up where the bodegas blink And the buses hiss like they know you think Mom said, keep your chin up high Even when the rent came due by the light I had holes in the soles of my hope Still I ran that block with a broke-down coat Saw gold in the cracks of the curb Made a plan from every word unheard They said, boy, that dream too big But I built my name on a one-room grit Every bruise got a story to tell Every loss taught me how to move well [Pre-Chorus] Now I’m one street closer Hands still tired, but my heart gets bolder Every scar on my sleeve Says I’m still here, I’m still breathing [Chorus] City dreams, city dreams I keep climbing through the heat City dreams, city dreams Can’t nobody take my seat From the stoop to the skyline I been mine, I been mine City dreams, city dreams Watch me turn that hurt to shine [Verse 2] Late nights with a cracked-up pen Writing down where the blacktop bends Kids on the corner talk loud like kings I learned to listen to the quiet things Seen friends fold under bad luck’s fist Seen moms hold whole worlds on wrists So I moved like a man with a fire in stride With a city on my back and a stare that stayed wide Took them no’s and I made them tools Turned dead-end blocks to a set of rules If the door shut fast, I found the side If the road broke down, I still arrived [Pre-Chorus] Now I’m one street closer Hands still tired, but my heart gets bolder Every scar on my sleeve Says I’m still here, I’m still breathing [Chorus] City dreams, city dreams I keep climbing through the heat City dreams, city dreams Can’t nobody take my seat From the stoop to the skyline I been mine, I been mine City dreams, city dreams Watch me turn that hurt to shine [Bridge] I won’t trade my name for a ticket Won’t fold my soul just to fit it If the whole block says go on I’ll be the first one still going strong [Chorus] City dreams, city dreams I keep climbing through the heat City dreams, city dreams Can’t nobody take my seat From the stoop to the skyline I been mine, I been mine City dreams, city dreams Watch me turn that hurt to shine [Outro] Yeah, I been mine Yeah, I been mine City dreams, city dreams Watch me turn that hurt to shine