dear God can ya save me
if you can't save me, save our babies
(we trying to keep it real, so many ghetto tears my people cry
life is hard and I see that every day, just so many ghetto tears
in the ghetto)

age 11 looking out of a ghetto building
mom and 5 of us little ghetto children
I ain't never knew wrong from right
growing up off my life, thinking Adidas had 4 stripes
so my uncle tried to warn us
told us not to do drugs, but yesterday I saw him on it
see in my hood it ain't no love
age 13, seen my auntie o.d. on drugs
the neighborhood hoe only 15 and everybody wants to bang her
found her dead, gave herself and abortion with a clothes hanger
I seen on of my neighbors try everything but couldn't make it
came home one day killed his whole family
I guess he couldn't take it
I give back, even if it ain't nothing big
look at my grandma, terminal disease only got months to live
they tell us we ain't gonna be nothin
gave my homie 25 years
I shed tears for all my peers

chorus:

dear god can ya save me
if you can't save me, save our babies
so many ghetto tears my people cry
you ain't supposed to question God but I'm asking why
so many ghetto tears my people cry
through out the years, my people shed ghetto tears
my people shed ghetto tears, through out the years

the ghetto's like a headache, one big ol migrane
tryin to stay high till I die
tryin to like hide the pain
my homey mama died and didn't know it
when she died he committed suicide
my homie jumped up off the sixth floor
maybe it's too late for me
since I'm still here, I'm kinda glad to be
been in and out of jail since i was 12
life been hectic since mama had me
I have to ask myself the simple question why
it's so hard to live but yet so easy to die
with this simple question Lord can you help me
just tryin to live large and wealthy
from these card that you dealt me
I used to ask ???, but now they ask me
life passed em up, I wonder will life pass me
cause it really ain't no love for us ghetto kids
for all the dirt that I did
I don't think I'll find where heaven is
I wonder why they won't panic and try to ban it
probably cause they scared of it
I just dont understand it

CHORUS

how could you carry a kid for 9 months black
she had a baby boy
but while she she was pregnant she was smoking crack
how could you rape and abouse your kids
how could you committ incest and say you love your kids
they ain't ask to be here, they ain't ask to see here
slipped here by 15 minutes of pleasure
that's why they can't see clear
from the cradle to the grave
or from the cemetary to the penatentary
life is so hard now bet ya leave it

CHORUS