I was an outcast, outsider, troublemaker
A lost soul, out of control, in danger
Didn't have a care in the world, my feelings were numb
Never showin' emotion is easy for some
I don't know how it happened, how I got to this point
But I needed a way out, I was stuck in the void
I needed another path or I'd self-destruct
I was down in my luck, my head was so f*****
A menace runnin' the streets is what I was
Holdin' my heat and rollin' with the serious thugs
You couldn't tell me a thing, I was like my brother
Words went in one ear and out the other
Slangin' and bangin' with a chip on my shoulder
And insane in the brain, certified street soldier
So close to the grave, at an early age
Can't tell you the price I paid
For the sky overhead's like a canvas of gray
I don't know how much time I'll be given to stay
From the first break of light 'til the end of the day
I'm just livin' my life 'til they come carry me away
I remember the late nights on the block where I came up
My pops used to hate when we'd hang with them bangers
Dissin' you one day, that would become us
That's just how it is when you live where we come from
Fight, don't run, is the model we live by
Get 'em on the gun and stomp 'em out about 10 times
s***, we was just kids back then
I had no remorse for what we did back then
Six of us, one car, we'd all pack in
Hit the strip and go and get this s*** crackin'
Gun wars and drug deals, I seen 'em happen
When I started losin' home boys, I wasn't laughin'
I looked all around and seen none of 'em there
That's when I figured out that nobody cared
If we lived or died, we'd just get high and ride
And I wasn't gonna let this happen one more time
For the sky overhead's like a canvas of gray
I don't know how much time I'll be given to stay
From the first break of light 'til the end of the day
I'm just livin' my life 'til they come carry me away
My mother was there for me every step of the way
She didn't judge me, she told me I'd win some day
When I was at my lowest, when I had no focus
She pulled me out the gutter, said I wasn't hopeless
Every night she prayed for me, I was out in the street
Chillin' on the corner with the hand on my heat
Eyes open wide for the pigs and foes
It's an everyday hazard when you hustle for dough
So many nights I didn't come home, she thought the worst
Maybe somebody shot me down without any remorse
Maybe I hurt somebody and I was stuck in a cell
And I regret all those times that I put her through hell
When I reflect back on those days, my heart aches
And everybody I lost or let down, I wish I could take it all back
And make it better, but I can't
So I try to make amends and be there through thick and thin
For the sky overhead's like a canvas of gray
I don't know how much time I'll be given to stay
From the first break of light 'til the end of the day
I'm just livin' my life 'til they come carry me away
Come carry me away, come carry me away
Come carry me away, come carry me away
A lost soul, out of control, in danger
Didn't have a care in the world, my feelings were numb
Never showin' emotion is easy for some
I don't know how it happened, how I got to this point
But I needed a way out, I was stuck in the void
I needed another path or I'd self-destruct
I was down in my luck, my head was so f*****
A menace runnin' the streets is what I was
Holdin' my heat and rollin' with the serious thugs
You couldn't tell me a thing, I was like my brother
Words went in one ear and out the other
Slangin' and bangin' with a chip on my shoulder
And insane in the brain, certified street soldier
So close to the grave, at an early age
Can't tell you the price I paid
For the sky overhead's like a canvas of gray
I don't know how much time I'll be given to stay
From the first break of light 'til the end of the day
I'm just livin' my life 'til they come carry me away
I remember the late nights on the block where I came up
My pops used to hate when we'd hang with them bangers
Dissin' you one day, that would become us
That's just how it is when you live where we come from
Fight, don't run, is the model we live by
Get 'em on the gun and stomp 'em out about 10 times
s***, we was just kids back then
I had no remorse for what we did back then
Six of us, one car, we'd all pack in
Hit the strip and go and get this s*** crackin'
Gun wars and drug deals, I seen 'em happen
When I started losin' home boys, I wasn't laughin'
I looked all around and seen none of 'em there
That's when I figured out that nobody cared
If we lived or died, we'd just get high and ride
And I wasn't gonna let this happen one more time
For the sky overhead's like a canvas of gray
I don't know how much time I'll be given to stay
From the first break of light 'til the end of the day
I'm just livin' my life 'til they come carry me away
My mother was there for me every step of the way
She didn't judge me, she told me I'd win some day
When I was at my lowest, when I had no focus
She pulled me out the gutter, said I wasn't hopeless
Every night she prayed for me, I was out in the street
Chillin' on the corner with the hand on my heat
Eyes open wide for the pigs and foes
It's an everyday hazard when you hustle for dough
So many nights I didn't come home, she thought the worst
Maybe somebody shot me down without any remorse
Maybe I hurt somebody and I was stuck in a cell
And I regret all those times that I put her through hell
When I reflect back on those days, my heart aches
And everybody I lost or let down, I wish I could take it all back
And make it better, but I can't
So I try to make amends and be there through thick and thin
For the sky overhead's like a canvas of gray
I don't know how much time I'll be given to stay
From the first break of light 'til the end of the day
I'm just livin' my life 'til they come carry me away
Come carry me away, come carry me away
Come carry me away, come carry me away