I was down so long Everything was goin' wrong And the people all around me Got the news Lord and everything I tried Fell to pieces and slowly died My soul was going broke From paying dues I was very nearly beat When I crawled back to my feet Believing that a change Was overdue Now I'm pickin' up the pieces And takin' out new leases Gettin' ready for the things I wanna do And you know I'm ready How tough is it gonna be Are you ready Don't keep asking me If I'm ready, yea, yea Leave it up to me I'm ready as I'm gonna be I'm ready finally Lord I'm ready to make my way Take it slowly from day to day Take it easy on myself As I roll along Lord knows it's down to me To write the melody To sing my own words To the song And you know I'm ready