[Verse 1: Input]
Good morning, April 20th in this here year of '99
I'm alive and well at fourteen minding my own place in line
So here I go, walking into my daily institution
With a lot on my plate for a fairly normal teen that's feeling foolish
Had a hard time going into public school for what it's worth
Unnoticed most of days distinguished by my place of birth
I'm a Denver native, but I grew up in that Catholic church
With a uniform on and a suit of broken armor for a shirt
These kids were different here, they made you feel like an alien
But I went on my own, and I took what I know to a place that appeared to be safe for me
To change that frame of thought wasn't hard to do to a kid like me
Drugs were the answer, drugs made a difference, drugs made me someone they could see
On my way to class, science hall, room number five
It was all about to change, it was time to approach that light
There I was in the back of the room when the fire alarms were set into motion
11:19 was burnt in my memory now it's time to go
We stood right up and got prepared and we formed a single line
As I made my way on out, I looked right back just to check the time
With one foot down in the hallway, I was thinking that class was done
And that's when I heard those screams, "There's kids with guns"
[Hook: Nikkiya]
Bombs come down, bullets fly
Could this be, will I die?
I heard he asked her, "Do you believe in God?"
She said "yes", then she was gone
Screaming out, I hear the cries
Bombs come down, spirits fly
Out the fire, the aftermath
It changed this boy into a man
[Verse 2: Input]
Do you really know what it's like
To feel a pipe bomb under your feet?
Those marble tables slid across the room like they sat on wheels
In a frantic state, I was all too young just to grasp this moment
It became a reality then and I thought that my life was over
And I laid on the floor in the corner just in case they wandered by
At the angle that we had bundled up, we couldn't see their eyes
And there came that second that we couldn't move 'cause they stood outside
And I taught myself to stop breathing like it was time to die
Pop, was my first impression; pop, was the second intention
Pop, pop, pop, pop, throw another in for good measure
It didn't even make much sense to be inside of a horror film
At the end of this awful day, we were all just kids
That look of fear on faces would make a growing angel cry
And there's no hope for us, it's time to depart from life
And if I don't blink again, I'm leaving in pain and suffering
So tell my family I love 'em, just tell my family I love 'em
[Hook: Nikkiya]
Bombs come down, bullets fly
Could this be, will I die?
I heard he asked her, "Do you believe in God?"
She said "yes", then she was gone
Screaming out, I hear the cries
Bombs come down, spirits fly
Out the fire, the aftermath
It changed this boy into a man
[Verse 3: Input]
Now it's hour four, still confined to a box collapsing
My lungs could relate to that feeling, I could feel the whole room gasping
And the S.W.A.T. team came in and that door broke in like a pipe bomb just exploded
And they looked in my eyes and they patted me down and they simply said "go"
Running like I never ran, stuck inside a maze, they looked like superheroes, but their guns said different
Nothing came across my mind except the fact that I need to get the fuck out of this here building
Every corner was a heart drop, blind spot, nevermore could I exist with gunshots self [?]
And the memory will make me remember how that day turned a kid into a man, that's fine now
When the lights came on, and that door swung open
I cried cause I knew that I left my fourteen year old self on that floor
As I stand here now, I have my story to tell
And I thank you all for joining me in this journey through hell
This is for my city, my state, my life at Columbine
I'm not gonna be that humble, nobody's got this heart like mine
And I made this life from a tile floor in a science class
And I'm proud of the person I am today, and you can't fire back
[Hook: Nikkiya]
Bombs come down, bullets fly
Could this be, will I die?
I heard he asked her, "Do you believe in God?"
She said "yes", then she was gone
Screaming out, I hear the cries
Bombs come down, spirits fly
Out the fire, the aftermath
It changed this boy into a man
