Songwriter: Joe Budden

[Chorus (Extended)]
Now if it goes to the wire
I will never fall, I got the soul of a fighter
Walk barefoot over coal, over fire
Nobody's gonna love me like me, so I'm my sole provider
If it goes to the wire
I will never fall, I got the soul of a fighter
Walk barefoot over coal, over fire
Nobody's gonna love me like me, so I'm my sole provider

[Verse 1]
Nobody thought I'd ever be dope with the pen
Whole first album was real, all wrote from within
Got a little bit of fame, I'm in the five, top off
[?] lokin' again, nah, I ain't smokin' again
Maybe I was too advanced, or 'cause the masses
Didn't go through it firsthand maybe they couldn't understand
The trials of a kid who never graduated
Maybe they'd rather hear some bullshit that's fabricated
Like my rims keep spinnin' on the V on the ave
Fuck me gettin' shot at, or me gettin' stabbed
Fuck gettin' so high to the point that I was gettin' so high
Off of that high that I almost died
Fuck everything I've seen in the precinct that's indecent
Or the coppers tryna keep me in there for no reason
Fuck being homeless, rib cage showin'
Last night I had beef but had to go there to eat
Fuck me growin' up and not gettin' to see Dad
Fuck therapy, detoxes and rehabs
Dudes in the hood being wild undercover
Or me beefin' with my child's mother
Or fuck Joe Budden the Third, chill
'Cause if you fuck with Joe Budden the Third then, nigga, that's my word
Fuck the jealousy, deceit
Fuck the strong-arm and B&E's, [?] much older than twenty-three
Fuck what I'm rappin', fuck this and the pad
And nigga fuck me missin' my dad
Maybe if I rap 'bout buyin' the bar out, or all the jewellery that I got
Then maybe y'all niggas'll listen to that
But listen, know now that this is my whole style
And I can't rap that other shit, I don't know how
All the hate shit on me and the fakeness I see
I write the real and you can't take that from me

[Chorus]
If it goes to the wire
I will never fall, I got the soul of a fighter
Walk barefoot over coal, over fire
Nobody's gonna love me like me, so I'm my sole provider

[Verse 2: Joe Budden]
I don't write so my label can be on top
Nigga, I write so the voices in my head just stop
Nigga, I write my life and it's way too real
This is Pay-per-view, not the Dave Chappelle
Joey hated by many and loved by few
One of the last real niggas left, what you wan' do?
Trouble with my voice, but even without a voice
Still for every hood in New Jersey I'm the choice
Used to break up in a house for a TV
Two years later, look Mouse on TV
My story nonetheless
And it's a story of success, nigga, it's the story of the best

[Chorus (Condensed)]
If it goes to the wire
I will never fall, I got the soul of a fighter
Walk barefoot over the coal, over fire...

Joe Budden

Joe Budden is from Jersey City, New Jersey. He was born in Spanish Harlem but lived in Queens until he was 12 and from there moved to Jersey City, New Jersey. Budden is one of five boys (one older brother and three younger brothers – two are twin brothers). Budden heard music in his home (his father is a multi-instrumentalist) and on the streets while he grew up.

He is also one quarter of Slaughterhouse, alongside fellow rappers Royce da 5’9”, Joell Ortiz, and Crooked I.