I walk the streets shoulders hunched and my head down
worried at the back of my mind there's a beat down
coming to me for all the things that I've done
but if you're recognized whatever you do don't run
because the old white guys in charge can smell the fear in your sweat
your only chance is to stand your ground you can bet
life isn't a picnic and it's not a park
wherever I go I'm stamped with a mark
banned for life

seems like so much fun, where all the cool kids run, but somehow I've been shunned
just trying to get inside, but I'm not well liked, so all I have is my pride
it's not so bad, hanging with the losers, in fact plenty of friends to be had
you only get one chance, and I got out of hand, that's why I've been banned

take a pause for a little self-examination
of how I came by this ill reputation
it's out of proportion to the mistakes I've made
but the cards would be the same no matter how they were played
life is a gamble, sometimes fate is against you
or the dealer stacks the deck and the house always wins; it's true
you can fool some people all of the time
but if you try to fool them all then you may find
you're banned for life

wish I should go where the people don't know me
someplace where they won't be so quick to pigeonhole me
maybe I'm delusional; the problem is personal
find out when I get there that my bubble has burst, and I'll
move on to the next place and start over again
but faster and faster they seem to catch on to my plan
maybe ostracism's not about opinion or place
it just has to be accepted, or maybe embraced
banned for life