Lyrics

Rock On

Every day in my building,
I stayed awake with this feeling,
I stared at the paint that was peeling,
I’m seeing faces looking at me from the ceiling,
I know I’m buggin’, cuz it’s hotter than an oven,
Plus, I’m tired and ain’t hardly ate nothing,
All day, I’ve been stressing all day,
Questioning life, I didn’t want to stay,
They say God works in mysterious ways,
But fuck a game plan, I didn’t want to play,
I couldn’t understand the reason for the pain,
Cuz at thirteen I felt like I’d seen too many days,
Waiting for a way to escape,
Waiting for the day He’d take me away,
Waiting for the end of my nights in hell,
And will I make it through?
I guess time will tell if I rock on…

When the nights are cold, hold on to yourself,
Rock, rock on,
When pain just overflows, hold on to your breath,
Rock, rock on…

Every day where I stay,
Another lost soul is shitting in the hallway,
I got a mop in my hand trying to earn a small wage,
But everything I bring in ends up in my pops’ veins,
It’s a hard life when you’re caught up in that hop thing,
But take my word, it’s even harder on your offspring.
I grew up wondering how long till the cops bring
Bodybags, cause bad dreams I had often
With both my folks all off in their own zone,
Leaving me and my sister just home alone.
But nothing cute, ain’t no Hollywood movie,
All I recall is all the pain and the fear that was running through me.
Trying to keep some food on our plates
Trying to keep my sister’s hair out of her face
Trying to make sure that she’s clean and she’s safe
I couldn’t be there everyday, but she still found a way to rock on

Every day in my mind,
The weight of the universe was crushing my spine
I was known as little man for handling mine
Went from age ten to twenty-nine over the summertime of ‘85
That’s twenty years ago, I’m still alive
Now I see the blessings, my foundation is fortified
Now I see the lessons, and how they have made me wise
I’ll stand strong and last long, I’ve looked the devil in his eyes
Been to hell, returned, and excelled
Now I’m living well, I’ve earned more than wealth
I’m giving thanks for every time I exhale
Instead of waiting for my ship to set sail
Now you can bet, I’m trying to hit 112
And leave my grandchildren stories to tell
No glory days, but plenty gory details
Cause giving up is how you fail
You’ve gotta rock on.