Verse 1]

I wake up to a charger buzzin’ on the nightstand

Plastic cuff kissin’ my skin like a cheap brand

Curfew like a shotgun sermon in my ear

“Be home by nine, boy, or we’ll make you disappear.”I pace the living room like a lion in a cage

Kitchen clock chewing seconds, gnawin’ at my rage

I ain’t perfect, hell, I’m barely even polite

But I’m still a man, not a blip in their satellite

Every block got eyes, every street got teeth

Every turn I take got a barcode underneath

I try to play nice for the neighbors and the priest

But the monitor’s a leash, and I’m the mean-ass beast

I got an ankle halo from the county, baby

Blinkin’ like a damn star, callin’ me crazy

Tell the law to quit breathin’ down my spine

I ain’t your dog, I won’t heel or whine

Yeah, this bracelet sings when I cross the line

Beep-beep, motherfucker, you’re doin’ just fine

I’m a walking dot on a cop shop map

Still livin’, still sinnin’, still talkin’ back

[Verse 2]

Parole man smiles like a crocodile in a suit

Says, “Make me proud,” I say, “I ain’t your recruit.”

I take the bus to work, weld sparks in my eyes

Clock in, clock out, count truths, count lies

Lunch break on the curb, swallow pride with the fries

I’m sober like a graveyard, still drunk on the skies.Dreams try to run, but the cord yanks tight,House-arrest horizon, same color every night

Neighbors think I’m dangerous ‘cause the cops swing by

But I mow my mama’s yard and keep the porch light dry

I ain’t holy, I ain’t gentle, but I pay my rent

What the hell’s redemption if the tracking’s permanent?

[Chorus]

I got an ankle halo from the county, baby

Blinkin’ like a damn star, callin’ me crazy

Tell the law to quit breathin’ down my spine

I ain’t your dog, I won’t heel or whine

Yeah, this bracelet sings when I cross the line

Beep-beep, motherfucker, you’re doin’ just fine

I’m a walking dot on a cop shop map

Still livin’, still sinnin’, still talkin’ back

[Bridge]

There’s a part of me that wants to set the sunrise on fire

Scream at the towers, “Come down, you wiretappin’ liars!”

But I got a sister who believes I’ll make it through

Got a nephew who wears my hat like it’s brand-new

So I swallow that bomb and I spit out a spark

Count down the minutes in the ankle’s bark

This ain’t freedom, it’s a plastic purgatory ring

But my heartbeat’s a drummer that still wants to sing

[Verse 3]

I remember the last night before this tethered life

Burnin’ rubber on the highway, kissin’ trouble like a wife

Thought I was invincible, thought I’d never break

But iron bites hard when you’re the one who made the mistake

They say men like me don’t change, we just hide

Like rust under paint on a late-night ride

But I’m trying, goddammit, with my hands and my teeth

To build somethin’ steady underneath this grief

[Breakdown]

I’m not your Pinocchio, I’m not your pet

I’m a battered, stubborn, stubborn sunset

I’m a bad line in your good report

A free man writin’ poems from a twitching port

Beep if you want—beep till I die

I’ll still look the blue light straight in the eye

[Chorus]

I got an ankle halo from the county, baby

Blinkin’ like a damn star, callin’ me crazy

Tell the law to quit breathin’ down my spine

I ain’t your dog

[Verse 4]

Sometimes I joke with the shadow on my leg

“Whatcha want tonight, boy? Another mile, another beg?”

I dance in the kitchen, pots bang like drums

Laugh ‘til the ceiling shakes, scare off the glums

Call my girl on the phone, she says, “Be good,”

I say, “I’m tryin’, baby, like a storm behaves wood.”

We plan a run to the beach when this shit’s undone

She’ll paint my name on the tide with the tip of her tongue

[Bridge 2]

Officer, I get it, you got a job to do

But I ain’t a spreadsheet, I ain’t a bar code blue

I’m a cracked-road hymn with a stubborn refrain

A mud-caked soul that still dances in the rain

I’ll keep my head down, keep my hands clean

But I won’t let this plastic tell me who I’ve been

[Chant]

Up with the heartbeat, down with the chain

Up with the sunlight, down with the stain

Up with the work boots grinding the street

Down with the chorus that says I’m beat

[Chorus]

I got an ankle halo from the county, baby

Blinkin’ like a damn star, callin’ me crazy

Tell the law to quit breathin’ down my spine

I ain’t your dog, I won’t heel or whine

Yeah, this bracelet sings when I cross the line

Beep-beep, motherfucker, you’re doin’ just fine

I’m a walking dot on a cop shop map

Still livin’, still sinnin’, still talkin’ back

[Outro]

One day this shackle’s gonna cough out a sigh

Unlock like a mercy I won’t let pass by

I’ll step into the street with the sun on my feet

No beeps, no pings, just a wide-open beat

Till then I’ll breathe, I’ll work, I’ll swear

I’ll hold my ground in this neon snare

Yeah, they track me, tag me, call me a case—

But I’m still here, still me, still takin’ up space