It’s not rebellion, it’s just survival

[Verse 1]

I wasn’t raised in the smoke or the gun

Didn’t grow up learning how to run

I believed in rules, and I played my part

Till the rules broke every tender part of my heart

[Verse 2]

They say justice wears a blindfold and a crown

But I’ve seen her turn her back, looking down

So I walked away from the courthouse steps

And into the fire with nothing left

[Pre-Chorus]

Is it rebellion if the law won’t see your pain

Or survival when the system’s rigged and vain

[Chorus]

When the law ends, my story begins.

I never could get the world to let me in

Not born an outlaw—but made one by lies,

This is what happens when faith in justice dies

They wrote the laws and burned the Bible

For me it’s not rebellion, it’s just survival

[Verse 3]

I watched the good ones get dragged through the dust

While the rich and the cruel repainted their rust

So I built a truth where the crooked can’t lie

And I carry that truth like a blade on my side

[Bridge]

You call it crime—I call it breadth

When silence is a kind of death

No badge, no book, no holy vow

Can make me kneel to what breaks us now

[Pre-Chorus]

What do you call a man who obeys no crown

When the crown’s the first to strike you down

[Chorus]

When the law ends, my story begins.

I never could get the world to let me in

Not born an outlaw—but made one by lies,

This is what happens when faith in justice dies

They wrote the laws and burned the Bible

For me it’s not rebellion, it’s just survival

[Verse 5]

So I walk this outlaw trail

With dusty skin and hope gone pale

Not for greed, or pride, or fame

But 'cause the law forgot my name

[Verse 6]

I wasn’t born to break your rules

But I won’t play the game for fools

I’ve seen the law twist truth to shame

And burn the meek in justice’s name

[Pre-Chorus]

Do you still call it justice when it don’t come around

What happens when the law forgets the ground

[Chorus]

When the law ends, my story begins.

I never could get the world to let me in

Not born an outlaw—but made one by lies,

This is what happens when faith in justice dies

They wrote the laws and burned the Bible

For me it’s not rebellion, it’s just survival

[Verse 7]

I live where the borders fade

Where justice can't be bought or paid

I wasn’t born to wear this brand

But they pushed me out with bloody hands

[Verse 8]

I shed my faith like winter skin

Stepped beyond where laws begin

Now I hold my head up high

In the shadows, I won’t lie

[Pre-Chorus]

Can you blame me for the path I take

When the righteous roads begin to break

[Chorus]

When the law ends, my story begins.

I never could get the world to let me in

Not born an outlaw—but made one by lies,

This is what happens when faith in justice dies

They wrote the laws and burned the Bible

For me it’s not rebellion, it’s just survival

[Verse 9]

I never asked to wear this brand

But they marked me with a trembling hand

So now I walk with sharpened grace

Out in the lawless, open space

[Verse 10]

They called me sinner, marked me flawed

Because I saw through their façade

But in the dirt, I built my creed

One not based on power or greed

[Pre-Chorus]

Why should I honor laws that never saw me

That only bend for the wealthy and free

[Chorus]

When the law ends, my story begins.

I never could get the world to let me in

Not born an outlaw—but made one by lies,

This is what happens when faith in justice dies

They wrote the laws and burned the Bible

For me it’s not rebellion, it’s just survival

[Verse 11]

I bowed my head, I tried to wait

But justice came a decade late

So I lit my torch and made my stand

Outside their lines, with blood on my hands

[Verse 12]

I tried to play inside the line

Till I learned the game’s design

Now I breathe where they won't go

Among the exiles they forego

[Pre-Chorus]

When did the law stop working for the kind

And start serving just the bottom line

[Chorus]

When the law ends, my story begins.

I never could get the world to let me in

Not born an outlaw—but made one by lies,

This is what happens when faith in justice dies

They wrote the laws and burned the Bible

For me it’s not rebellion, it’s just survival

[Outro]

So write your codes in books of stone

But don’t pretend they’re carved in bone

I walk alone where angels fear

'Cause no one else would volunteer