[Verse 1]
I was born, then I started growing up
I was curious and loud in spite of all “enough's enough”s
It was just how I was built
Jay Sanders and Catherine Wilt
It made me an easy target when I talked
I was tall, but I'd get pushed until my face hit a sidewalk
I was kicked while I was down
My name no longer proper noun
Though I was chipped, I wasn't chopped down yet
I posed a point I would not soon forget
[Chorus]
I'll never quit
It's gonna take a lot more than that
No, I won't go out so fast
I was built to last
I don't give up
I'm a river with an ocean end
And though I could pa** tonight
I won't go without a fight
[Verse 2]
With all that said, school was always difficult
I didn't know about the parts of me that wanted revolt
I was eaten by the dull
I was irresponsible
With each failed cla**, I dug a hole a few more feet
I was embarra**ed and would keep all of my F's discreet
I had let my teachers down
My name no longer proper noun
But I bit my tongue and pa**ed by skin of teeth
And now I sing what used to live beneath
[Chorus]
I'll never quit
It's gonna take a lot more than that
No, I won't go out so fast
I was built to last
I don't give up
I'm a river with an ocean end
And though I could pa** tonight
I won't go without a fight
[Verse 3]
Speaking of songs, from when I was nine to now
I would crease a CD sleeve with my guitar out
I'd write songs as best I could
Formed a band like my heroes would
There were those who thought I sang like an Anglophile
They didn't like my teen dreams or my words or style
I was just only a kid, ambitious and insipid
But as I grew, I seemed to hit my mark
'Til my wheels fall off, I won't stop spouting sparks
[Chorus]
I'll never quit
It's gonna take a lot more than that
No, I won't go out so fast
I was built to last
I don't give up
I'm a river with an ocean end
And though I could pa** tonight
I won't go without a fight
[Verse 4]
I got fired for the first time at twenty-one
The Second City threw a brick weighing twenty tons
It's the only job I've lost
I was my own nightmare boss
So I got myself a job at the Old Town School
Money's always been a game, I can't dodge the rules
I took every chance I saw
All my friends were rabbits' paws
And soon enough, they called on me for work
And I begged nobody, persistence has its perks
[Chorus]
I'll never quit
It's gonna take a lot more than that
No, I won't go out so fast
I was built to last
I don't give up
I'm a river with an ocean end
And though I could pa** tonight
I won't go without a fight
[Verse 5]
Out of shape, I spent my whole life being so
I've been approachable and moldable and almost dough
I've felt bad in my own skin and the clothes I don't fit in
I've felt sick and depressed in the realest way
All of the toxins that I've taken in have come to stay
I care less for how I look
It's my insides that have me shook
But now I'm running, eating better, and it feels great
I will never let my health disintegrate
[Chorus]
I'll never quit
It's gonna take a lot more than that
No, I won't go out so fast
I was built to last
I don't give up
I'm a river with an ocean end
And though I could pa** tonight
I won't go without a fight