Iron Inertia

[Verse 1]
The slag heap shadows on Fifth Avenue stretch for the new boots
You're walking different but I'm the circuit path under your roots
I'm the low-grade hum in the transformer you pass on your way home
The specific angle of dust that settles on the polished chrome
I'm the hairline crack in the foundation that your father never fixed
The Louisiana roux recipe with one ingredient you missed
The silence after he asked you, "Son, you think you're better than this?"
I'm the gravity in your bones that always answers with a "yes."

[Chorus]
I'm the iron in your bloodline, the pull you can't erase
The familiar stranger's glare you see reflected in your face
I'm the rust in the water pipe, the reason for the wait
You can run the engine red, boy, but you can't escape the state.

[Verse 2]
You drew the blueprints different, used a new alloy for the frame
But the load-bearing walls are mine, I whisper out your family name
That Tuesday in October when you packed the rusted Ford
I'm the worn-out fan belt squealing every single promise you had sworn
You think that love's a breakthrough, a clean connection, pure and true
I'm the phantom load that draws a current when there's nothing plugged into you
She told you, "Boy, you got my fire," but she never meant the fuse
Just the carbon score on the drywall when you've got nothing left to lose.

[Bridge]
This whole city's a museum to a future that's decayed
And every bolt you try to turn was torqued the day that I was made.

[Outro]
You can change the shoes.
You can't change the walk.