Harris, the voice and speaker of the poem begins with spoken word in an effort to get the audience on one accord. He addresses the audience as if he’s talking directly to each one of them individually. “Let me kick it to you right quick, man/ Not on some gangsta sh*t man, on some real sh*t/ Anybody done been through the same thing, I’m sure you feel the same way…” Harris wants everyone to zero in on this message because prior to the death of his friend he lived his life in a reckless manner which he feels led to the indirect death of his best friend Philant. This song is dedicated to his best friend Philant. “Big Phil/ This for you pimpin.” TI lost his friend Philant in a shootout that caused him much pain and as a result of his grief, it forced him to re-examine his philosophies and consider a new way of thinking, one that involved thinking before acting.
The chorus, sung by Justin “JT” Timberlake joined by TI, is about a man on a metaphorical road and he wants to change his life’s direction. With passion he states, “I’ve been traveling on this road too long (too long)/ Just tryna find my way back home (back home).” The road represents the decisions and life choices he’s making. However, he wants to make a change. He feels he’s been on this course of action far too long, and it’s time for a change—new actions, new decisions, new way of thinking. Harris no longer wants to live the life he lived previously. “The old me is dead and gone (dead and gone)” The “old me” refers to TI, the person he used to be, with his old way of thinking. He used to act first and think later. He ran from no one and no challenge. In verse two he brags “I ain’t never been scared.” Harris backed down from no challenges before he tragically lost his friend Philant to senseless violence. Now full of regret, he wants to put that person behind him.
Verse one, performed by TI, is a hypothetical anecdote of a person who goes for a walk and things quickly get out of hand. TI draws in the reader into his hypothetical world by asking “Ever had one of them days wish would’ve stayed home/ Run into a group of ni**as who getting’ they hate on/ You walk by/ They get wrong/ You reply then sh*t get blown/ way outta proportion/ Way past discussion….” Out of instinct, force of habit, the hypothetical young man replies to the negativity from the guys on the porch, plays into the hate, and an argument ensues.