The Navy Gave Me

This track comes from Aaron's military service — Air Force enlisted, Army Infantry officer, DoD civilian at SPAWAR/NIWC. It tackles Acknowledging everything the military gave him beyond a paycheck — discipline, brotherhood, identity, purpose, and the foundation for everything he's built since.. The lyrics get specific — "The Navy took that kid and set the boy aflame" — because personal tracks on Majik's are personal for real, not performatively. The r&b production matches the energy of the confession. It hits grateful and powerful, in that order. Every personal track in the catalogue comes from a real moment, a real feeling, a real person. This one is no exception.

[verse 1] They gave me a uniform before I had a spine Gave me something bigger when I couldn't find what's mine Four walls of a barracks and a bed that had to fold Taught me that precision is the way you save your soul I was just a kid with nothing but a name The Navy took that kid and set the boy aflame [pre-chorus] I didn't join for glory, didn't join for war I joined because I didn't know what I was for [chorus] The Navy gave me structure when my life had none Gave me brothers in the dark when I was feeling done Gave me early mornings, gave me how to lead Gave me Do More With Less before it was my creed The Navy gave me calluses on soft and shaking hands The Navy made a boy become a man who understands [verse 2] They gave me the Atlantic and the taste of salt in rain Gave me watch at midnight standing through the pain Lean Six Sigma thinking before I knew the name Every system, every process, nothing stays the same I learned to fix what's broken with whatever's in the room Make a plan from nothing, execute it soon [pre-chorus] I didn't stay forever, but forever stays in me Every deck I swabbed is in my company [chorus] The Navy gave me structure when my life had none Gave me brothers in the dark when I was feeling done Gave me early mornings, gave me how to lead Gave me Do More With Less before it was my creed The Navy gave me calluses on soft and shaking hands The Navy made a boy become a man who understands [bridge] And when I traded dog tags for a keyboard and a dream I brought the watch floor mentality to every tech regime Magic Unicorn was built on military bones CTO of Folly Beach but the Navy brought me home [final chorus] The Navy gave me everything I didn't know I'd need Gave me failure, gave me grit, gave me the will to bleed So when they ask me where I learned to build from scratch I tell them, I learned it on the water, nothing else could match [outro] At ease, soldier At ease, at ease You earned it, A-A-Ron You earned your peace