Integrity

[good4somethingbum]

Integrity ©2016 Robert George BMI

Life was rugged on the streets and some would say I raised myself
Mama died in childbirth and my dad was killed when I was twelve
Yeah, my father was a struggling boxer till the day he died
Win or lose he faced the mirror in his dressing room with pride

He’d say, “You can always trust the Good Lord
To be in your corner and reward your integrity”

Right before I turned eighteen I got a great job on the docks
But sometimes the devil answers when opportunity knocks
Cos the graveyard foreman offered me alotta extra pay
To unload some foreign contraband then look the other way

And yet I was taught when push comes to shove
Pulling my own weight’s a matter of my integrity

My poor father’s pearls of wisdom,
Helped me fight the rich man’s system
Even when my heart was tempted otherwise
I turned down that extra money,
Even now I think it’s funny
How he helped me see things through the future’s eyes

Comin’ home from work one day I found an old man at my door
He said he had been my father’s trainer years before
Then he said my dad’d probably still be alive
But he’d turned down lotsa cash to take a third round dive

Dad’d say that when you’re on the ropes
The thing that helps the righteous cope is integrity

Then the old man wiped a tear and handed me a locker key
He said I was eighteen now and somethin’ was waiting for me
Well, I found that locker at a local gym and looked inside
There was Dad’s life savings and the boxing gloves from his last fight

Then it hit me and that old pair of gloves
Told me life and death are matters of our integrity

Yeah, my father was a struggling boxer till the day he died
Win or lose he faced the mirror in his dressing room with pride…