They say I'm a man with thirst for blood In the eyes of the law I'm a stand up citizen And I can see that this will be trouble And you don't want me back around here again I've been down on my luck Could only roll snake eyes So I will rise above you baby oh, yes I will rise They say I'm a man that drinks too much But in the grand scheme of things that's the best of me You take me for everything that I've got And you keep coming back to attack the rest of me I've been down on my luck Could only roll snake eyes So I will rise above you baby Like the lord of the flies I should've shortened the rope And told them to throw away the key And I will rise above you baby Oh yes, I will rise I will rise They say I'm a man that lost my way But I never had a direction or a sign And I could've just laid down and died But I keep on going with my whiskey, beer and wine I've been down on my luck Could only roll snake eyes So I will rise above you baby Like the lord of the flies I should've shortened the rope And told them to throw away the key And I will rise above you baby Oh yes, I will rise I will rise Hard road wouldn't want it any other All told, I don't wanna be a wage slave Can't you see I'm doing the best that I can Be strong and carry yourself like a man