I've walked through this world sometimes without a friend    My life has been up and down, been close to an end    But I've been through the mill    And I've paid my dues    Walked so many miles in different peoples shoes       But I've been through the fire    And I've walked in the rain    I've felt the joy and endured the pain       Once I was a schemer    But I always was a dreamer    But it took me who I was and where I've been    To make me who I am       I've met a lot of lost souls in the bowels of hell    Traveled some crooked roads, got some stories yet to tell    I've shot up with the junkie, in piss stench halls    Broken bread with the devil, fallen on my knees to God    Some days I was blessed, some nights I was damned    But I always tried to lend a helping hand       Once I was a deceiver    Not I am a believer    But it took me who I was and where I've been    To make me who I am       Oh, I've seen the little children, all strung out on dope    No one to care about them, living without hope    But I've been lucky that I always had a song    I'll sing it with compassion, to try to right the wrong.       Once my life was wretched    But why should I regret it    Cuz, it took me who I was, and where I've been    To make me who I am       Speech:    This is dedicated to my friends in jail    For my Brother Jake who had to ride the rail    For my friend Roonie and Melvin, who were so dear    They were so misunderstood    But I wish they were still here    To hear this song I sing from my heart    They're forever in my soul, even though we had to part       Once I was a deceiver    Not I am a believer    But it took me who I was and where I've been    To make me who I am