Verse 1:

it's hard to break even when the odds are fixed
since I's a kid--taught to live my dreams
but it's like breathin' without oxygen
--need a cpap to help the sleep apnea
we gag on fake facts--they feed 'em back to us
battling the establishment--smash the machine to fractured bits
----my last ditch--got an 'A' for effort
if only my--tape cassette could say the same
I'd get some acclaim
keepin' grubby hands out my lane--I guess I'm McClane
--rap game's--my Nakotomi Plaza
--I tip-toe through broken glass
to rescue my oldest passion
bet it all against the house in the hopes it'd let me out
--then I folded--forget me now--I always throw in the towel

Hook:

up against all odds
my attempts to rise
from the depths of this depression
have gone sideways
place respect in the method
and roll the dice--(like)
playing roulette with a weapon
can't hedge your bets on your life

up against all odds
my attempts to rise
from the depths of this depression
have gone sideways
place respect in the method
and roll the dice--(like)
playing roulette with a weapon
can't hedge your bets on your life

Verse 2:

I got a lot to give--but I gotta get my take
& can't live----off--experi--ence--on a resume
it's curious--how us workin' stiffs are gettin' paid
while executives--are leveragin' for their percentage raised
if a nine to five--job--can't provide a livin' wage
this inequity's--the recipe--for societal decay
it's beyond all reasonable explanation
like--sensory deprivation's--effect on the mind
and--memory--of its patients
so what's the over/under on an overachiever
who's broke and overly eager to throw a rope for the reaper?
you can play the hand your dealt----or take a chance--rebel
create your own luck----pony up----advance yourself
that's my gambler's tell--infidel--produce stanzas well
I'm just trying to set a positive image
but the odds of me winning are beginning to look impossibly slim
follow me into--this den of sin--let's pocket these ends

Hook:

up against all odds
my attempts to rise
from the depths of this depression
have gone sideways
place respect in the method
and roll the dice--(like)
playing roulette with a weapon
can't hedge your bets on your life

up against all odds
my attempts to rise
from the depths of this depression
have gone sideways
place respect in the method
and roll the dice--(like)
playing roulette with a weapon
can't hedge your bets on your life

Verse 3:

a heart's the only thing of value--lowest score wins
play my cards close--to my aortic valve--I'm all in
--all bets are off--check the pulse--and call again
the low roller--with no dough, blowin' the vault's lid
I plan to run it--press--my luck like a panic button
take fat chances on bad hands--til house advantage
disrupts it--every breaking point's--connected
--by a fixed line--of credit
it's a system--designed to keep you imprisoned by debt
they'll let it ride--'til you're dead inside
--then arrive to collect (and)
death is the ultimate price--still I'm rollin' the dice
--the cost of living a tumultuous life
--you can make all of the right moves
and follow concise rules
but it's the law of probability--still--that you might lose
the hardest lesson that I had to learn
you can pass your turn--or take it
either way--you crash and burn
still trying to get that backdraft deferred

Hook:

up against all odds
my attempts to rise
from the depths of this depression
have gone sideways
place respect in the method
and roll the dice--(like)
playing roulette with a weapon
can't hedge your bets on your life

up against all odds
my attempts to rise
from the depths of this depression
have gone sideways
place respect in the method
and roll the dice--(like)
playing roulette with a weapon
can't hedge your bets on your life