A LIFE LIVED
Never These Walls ~ Michael Nin
Child, I seen the light go out in a woman’s eyes,
(Choir: Don’t let it be you! Don’t let it be you!)
These bricks’ll turn your laughter into stone-cold cries,
(Choir: Don’t let it be you! Don’t let it be you!)
But I tell you, child, there’s a better way to stand,
Hold the pen in your story, put your life in God’s hand.
[Chorus]
So don’t let these walls raise you, child.
(Choir: Never these walls!)
Let wisdom raise you.
(Choir: Yes, Lord, wisdom!)
Let patience raise you.
(Choir: Hold on, hold on!)
Let God raise you.
(Choir: Let God! Let God!)
But not these walls…
Never these walls.
[Verse 2]
I learned silence can be stronger than a fight,
(Choir: Walk away, child, walk away!)
The devil takes your laughter for the price of one night,
(Choir: Don’t let him, don’t let him!)
Your past is written, but your future’s still free,
Choose life, child, and let God’s love be.
[Chorus]
So don’t let these walls raise you, child.
(Choir: Never these walls!)
Let wisdom raise you.
(Choir: Yes, Lord, wisdom!)
Let patience raise you.
(Choir: Hold on, hold on!)
Let God raise you.
(Choir: Let God! Let God!)
But not these walls…
Never these walls.
[Bridge]
Respect lasts longer than fear…
(Choir: It lasts! It lasts!)
Prayer reaches higher than steel…
(Choir: Yes, it will! Yes, it will!)
Don’t mistake loneliness for love…
(Choir: No, child, no!)
Freedom’s more than gates—
It’s the peace you can feel.
[Final Chorus]
So don’t let these walls raise you, child.
(Choir: Never these walls!)
Let wisdom raise you.
(Choir: Yes, Lord, wisdom!)
Let patience raise you.
(Choir: Hold on, hold on!)
Let God raise you.
(Choir: Let God! Let God!)
But not these walls…
Never these walls.
Never these walls…
Never these walls.
Never These Walls — Liner Notes
Never These Walls came from a quiet, unexpected moment. Last summer I was back in my hometown in a small town in New York, staying with a cousin. One night I couldn’t sleep. Around three in the morning I stepped outside and walked around the corner from the house. The streets were completely still, the kind of silence that only exists in the early hours before dawn.
As I walked, I realized I had stopped in front of the very first children’s home I had ever lived in. Standing there, now in my seventies, I found myself looking at that building and wondering what I would say to the boy who once slept inside those walls. What would I tell that younger version of myself about life, about choices, about the strength it takes to rise above where you begin?
The words of the song started forming almost immediately. It felt less like writing and more like a conversation across time — an older man speaking to a young boy who didn’t yet know what his life would become.
Never These Walls is built around that message. The idea that the place you begin doesn’t have to define the person you become. That wisdom, patience, and faith can raise you higher than any walls meant to contain you. Because in the end, a life is never defined by where it started — only by what rises above it.
