I was an outcast, outsider, trouble maker A lost soul, outta control in danger Didn't have a care in the world, my feeling were numb Never showing emotion, it's 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 a ploy I needed another path or I'd self destruct I was down on my luck, my head was so fucked A menace rollin' 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 An insane, hit the brain certified street soldier So close to the grave, you at an early age Can't tell you the price I've paid Oh the sky overhead, it's like a canvas of grey I don't know how much time I'll be given to stay From the first spring to light 'til the end of the day I'm just livin' my life 'til they come carry me away I've been there in LA nights in the block where I came up My pops used to hate when we hanged with them bangers Guess he knew one day that we'll become us That's just how it is when you live where we come from "Fight, don't run!" is the motto we live by Get 'em on the ground and stomp a mind about ten times Sure we was just kids back then I had no remorse for what we did back then Six of us, one call, we'd all pack in Hit the strip, and go and get the shit crackin' Gun wars and drug deals, I seen 'em happen When I started losin' homeboys, 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 die, we'll just get high and ride And I wasn't gonna let this happen one more time Oh the sky overhead, it's like a canvas of grey I don't know how much time I'll be given to stay From the first spring to light 'til the end of the day I'm just livin' my life 'til they come carry me away My mother would stand for me every step of the way She did not 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 on the street Chillin' on the corner with the hand on my heat Eyes open wide for the pigs and foes It's an every day 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 Well 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 Oh the sky overhead, it's like a canvas of grey I don't know how much time I'll be given to stay From the first spring to 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

Mmm-mmm Mmm-mmm Carry me Home to Birmingham To my Sarah-Ann To where I grew a man Mmm-mmm carry me Away from this old war I don't wanna fight no more I just wish it would end Mmm-mmm [CHORUS] Here I'm tied down and homesick And that old wind just blows so freely Why can't it take me along Mmm-mmm carry me With you ramblin' wind It's the place you've been I wish I was home again Mmm-mmm Mmm-mmm [BREAK:] (humming on top) [CHORUS] Here I'm tied down and homesick And that old wind just blows so freely Why can't it take me along Mmm-mmm carry me Home to Alabam To Sarah's homemade jam To old red mountain land Mmm-mmm carry me With you ramblin' wind It's the place you've been I wish I was home again Mmm-mmm Mmm-mmm

I've these dreams I'm Walking home Home when it used to be And everything is As it was Frozen in front of me Here I stand Six feet small Romanticizing years ago It's a bitter sweet feeling hearing "Wrapped Around Your Finger" on the Radio And these days I wish I was 6 again Oh make me a red cape I wanna be Superman Oh, if only my life was more like 1983 All these things would be more like they were at the Start of me Had it made in 83 Thinking bout my brother Ben I miss him every day He looks just like his brother John But on an 18 month delay Here I stand 6 feet small And smiling cause I'm scared as hell Kind of like my life is like a sequel to a movie Where the actor's names have changed Well, well these days I wish I was six again Oh make me a red cape I wanna be Superman Oh, if only my life was more like 1983 All these things would be more like they were at the Start of me If my life was more like 1983 I'd plot a course to the source of the purest little part of me And most my memories Have escaped me Or confused themselves with dreams If heaven's all we want it to be Send your prayers to me Care of 1983 You can paint that house a rainbow of colors Rip out the floorboards Replace the shutters but That's my plastic in the dirt Whatever happened to my Whatever happened to my Whatever happened to my lunchbox When came the day that it got Thrown away and don't you think I should have had some say In that decision If only my life If only my life If only my life If only my life If only my life If only my life If only my life If only my life

I'm writing you, to catch you up on places I've been And you held this letter Probably got excited But there's nothing else inside it Didn't have a camera by my side this time Hoping I would see the world through both my eyes Maybe I will tell you all about it When I'm in the mood to lose my way with words Today, skies are painted colors of a cowboy cliche And strange how clouds that look Like mountains in the sky Are next to mountains anyway Didn't have a camera by my side this time Hoping I would see the world through both my eyes Maybe I will tell you all about it When I'm in the mood to lose my way but let me say You should have seen that sunrise with your own eyes It brought me back to life You'll be with me next time I go outside No more 3 by 5's I guess You had to be there I guess You had to be with me Oh today, I finally overcame Tryin' to fit the world inside a picture frame Maybe I will tell you all about it When I'm in the mood to lose my way but let me say You should have seen that sunrise with your own eyes It brought me back to life You'll be with me next time I go outside No more 3 by 5's, just no more 3 by 5's