[Intro:]
— So what you gonna do when you get outta here, cat daddy?
— I don't know, dawg. I'm just tryna live it one day at a time, ya know?
— I hear you talkin' man, live it one day at a time…
— It ain't nothing but a thang though, bro.
— Yeah I hear you, fool.
— Well, let me get up outta here, my ride out here waitin' for me.
— Alright, cat daddy, take it easy, baby.
— You stay up, fool.
— Peace.
[Verse 1:]
He greets his father with his hands out,
Rehabilitated slightly, I'm glad to be the man's child,
The world is different since he's seen it last,
Out of jail, been seven years and he's happy that he's free at last.
All he had was his mother's letters,
Now he's molded and he's gotta make a change and make it for the better,
But he's black so he's got one strike against him,
And he's young plus he came up in the system,
But he's smart and he's finally makin' eighteen,
And his goal's to get on top and try to stay clean.
So he's callin' up his homie who done came up,
Livin' large, now they dealin' with the same stuff,
And had that attitude that who he was worth it,
And with that fucked up attitude he killed his first man,
Now it's different, he, who did dirt,
And realized killin' men meant comin' up but it still hurt,
And can't nobody change this.
It's nineteen-ninety-four and we up against the same shit,
I never understood why
I could never see a man cry till I seen a man die.
[Verse 2:]
Imagine life at its full peak,
Then imagine lyin' dead in the arms of your enemy,
Imagine peace on this Earth when there's no grief,
Imagine grief on this Earth when there's no peace.
Everybody's got a different way of endin' it,
And when your number comes for service then they send it in,
Now your time has arrived for your final test,
I see the fear in your eyes and hear your final breath,
How much longer will it be till it's all done?
Total darkness and ease be at all one,
I watch him die, and when he dies, let us celebrate.
You took his life, but your memory you'll never take,
You'll be headed to another place,
And the life you used to live will reflect in your mother's face,
I still gotta wonder why
I never seen a man cry till I seen a man die.
[Verse 3:]
I hear you breathin' but your heart no longer sounds strong,
But you kinda scared of dyin' so you hold on,
And you keep on blackin' out and your pulse is low,
Stop tryna fight the reaper just relax and let it go,
Because there's no way you can fight it, though, you'll still try,
And you can try it till you fight it but you'll still die.
Your spirits leave your body and your mind clears,
The rigor mortis starts to set, now you outta here,
You start your journey into outer space,
You see yourself in the light but you're still feelin' outta place,
So you standin' in the tunnel of eternal life,
And you see the ones you never learn to love in life.
Make the choice, let it go if you can back it up,
If you ain't at peace with God, you need to patch it up,
But if you ready close your eyes and we can set it free,
There lies a man not scared to die, may he rest in peace.
I still got to wonder why,
I never seen a man cry till I seen that man die.