If I gotta burn in fire Feel the flames For my loved ones to excel in this game Then let it burn Let it burn As I lay me down to sleep I pray to the Lord that my soul he keeps Nobody weeps when a G dies But like Maya Angelou still we rise Mama tried to keep me home at night But despite her attempts I hung with the macks and the pimps Sidin' with the Rip's Not cuz I like blue if you like red I did it cuz I never did like you And it said the good die young I don't recognize myself what have I become? Can you tell me why am I headed for a dead end? Why I got another dead friend? Why they surround me- dead men? Everywhere I look right and left Flip another page in the book of life and death It's comin'- I feel it breathin' down my back It got me runnin' Grim Reap ain't cuttin' no slack What can I do where can I go Lord forgive me for all I did cuz I didn't know And when my heart beats it's last tick Somebody sat these three words in my casket: Lord have mercy Lord forgive me for all the wrong that I did All of the pain that I inflicted as a kid On Judgement Day consider this before you curse me I was only a child so Lord have mercy Forgive me for all the wrong that I've done All of the pain I inflicted when I was young On Judgement Day consider this before you curse me I was only a child so Lord have mercy Should I die before I wake Don't shed a tear Mama cuz I finally escaped No more drama no more blood sweat and tears No more pressure from my peers and no more fears I rest in peace- how long will it last Fore I have to answer for what I did in the past Illin' - willin' and dealin' cops always after me I call it survival and you call it misanthropy But let the record reflect circumstances were suspect But you couldn't care less- mann While I struggle to survive You turned your eyes- plugged your up ears Ignored my cries Now Ms. America sayin' we scarin' her But she can give me Liberty or Death- I'm darin' her Either one'll set me free- that's all I wanna be But that aint what y'all wanna see You'd rather see me killin' up my own in the ghetto Or sellin' blow to anybody Black, Brown, or Yellow But forget that- I'm tryin' to get my head right Even if it mean I gotta get dead tonight Lord have mercy forgive me Forgive me for the blood that his body bled And all the tears that his Mommy shed Book says 'Thou Shalt Not Kill' But I done seen more blood spilled Than the vets on Hamburger Hill- it's real Post War Syndrome- went to see my homie But his Mama told me that the homie been gone Everytime I turn around it be another body on the ground With fresh gunshot wounds but he didn't hear a sound When he came out the room Nobody told him he would be dead so soon But the gauge went boom Ms. America, I know you got a cure for AIDS But we need a cure for Raid who on a rampage Can you feel it- the tensions in the air thick Hate got me so high I'm gettin' airsick Got my people broke lookin for a buck to borrow Doin it one day at a time fuck your sorrow Fuck tommorrow I want revenge I got a Beretta named Vendetta Time to answer for your sin- man When you meet your creator- tell him I apologize But I gotta ride Lord have mercy forgive me... [chorus]