four-unit building with a water tank that everyone shares,
I can't shower same time as the guy downstairs
this is my life...
feels like musical chairs
it might not be a place to sit when the music aint there
I know when paying my dues no expense should be spared
walk in the room, and everybody look at me weird
like where were you?
and I'm like 'yo, I was at work'
studio time aint free; bill collectors is jerks
a student loan's sky high--that's the truth and it hurts
to see them funds move out when I know all the work
it took to make em
the way they take em's beserk
they want the graduate to end up in a button-up shirt
under
fluorescent lights, smile at folks you don't like
laugh at jokes that ain't funny
just to make that money
just to make ends meet
touching concrete,
never grass,
never sand,
no sunlight,
it can
wreak havoc on the spirit of a person
the first step's recognition
the second is reversin
those effects
make life or make checks
the trade-off has got me so vexed
HOOK
and this is my life
feel like I never get it quite right
feel like I never get it quite right
and this is my life
feel like I never get it quite right
feel like I never get it quite right
grateful to just have insight, even if I never get it quite right
grateful to have breath in my pipes, even if I never get it quite right still I'm doin alright
VERSE 2
the best advice my momma ever gave me--can't depend on no man
can't depend on nobody
gotta make your own plan
so my nose was in the books, but my head was in the stars
I was writin papers at the same time I'm writin bars
I was sittin up in class lookin like I'm takin notes
when I'm really writin rhymes, tryna get some better quotes
better know
that I still will do better than the rest on the test
but that still do nothing for my stress
the success means nothin if it's not what you're wantin
all of the dreams become the demons that you're confrontin
and all of it seems to be beginnin to just be shuttin you down
your motivation is shot
you dont be comin around
you feel like all that you've got that's understandin the pound
of your heart when it knocks
is the words with the sounds
and it sounds so ludicrous when you say it out loud
your parents like "what is this?"
you wanted them to be proud
and education is real, but it got nothin on love
you gotta do what you feel, and put nothin else above
and step on out on that faith, give it all that it takes
sit back and reap the rewards? these are the highest of stakes...
HOOK