We gonna take you from Tokyo to New Jersey New Jersey to Tokyo Tokyo to Jersey It's pretty just the same I was just a little girl Skinny legs, a press and curl My mother always thought I'd be a star But way before the record deals Streets that nurtured Lauryn Hill Made sure that I'd never go too far Every ghetto, every city And suburban place I been Make me recall my days in New Jerusalem Story starts in Hooverville Grew up next to Ivy Hill When kids were stealing quartervilles for fun "Kill the Guy" in Carter Park Rode a Mongoose 'til it's dark Watching kids show off the stolen ones Every ghetto, every city And suburban place I been Make me recall my days in the New Jerusalem You know it's hot Don't forget, what you got Looking back... looking back, looking back, looking back You know it's hot Don't forget, what you got Looking back, looking back, looking back, looking back Bag of Bonbons, 20 cents and a nickel (well that's a quarter) Springfield Ave had the best popsicles Saturday morning cartoons and Kung-Fu (wuh-TAH!) Main street roots tonic with the dreads A beef patty and some coco bread Move the patch from my Lee's to the tongue of my shoes Every ghetto, every city And suburban place I been Make me recall my days in New Jerusalem Make me recall my days in New Jerusalem Every ghetto and every city that I been Make me recall my days in New Jerusalem Make me recall my days in New Jerusalem You know it's hot Don't forget, what you got Looking back, looking back, looking back, looking back One more time you know it's hot Don't forget, what you got Looking back, looking back, looking back, looking back Wait a minute, one, two, three, four You know it's hot Don't forget, what you got Looking back, looking back, looking back, looking back

Ghetto, ghetto Oh, I've been, I've been praying for you Hallelujah It is easy as 1, 2, 3 I wanna be what's on TV And if that's wrong, please don't blame me 'Cause where I live we have nothing In the ghetto, ghetto, ghetto In the ghetto, ghetto, ghetto Little kids growing up without no education Mom's on drugs, 'cause that's her only medication Nobody's home, but they ain't on a vacation But they left the kids alone watching the T.V. station What's wrong with the picture, please, someone give me the answers They be wondering why the girls grow up to be dancers Then we wonder why the boys grow up to be dealers And they be angry at the whole world ready to kill us Aye, after we start to resolve the whole problems How we let our little children just turn into goblins Why we got them all killing and stealing and robbing We need to plan a little seed to prevent the mobbing Why don't we teach them that science to reach for the stars? 'Cause they can be defiant with a future worse than ours Don't want them looking in the past and covering scars They need a path out the ghetto, ghetto, hello It is easy as 1, 2, 3 I wanna be what's on TV And if that's wrong, please don't blame me 'Cause where I live we have nothing In the ghetto, ghetto, ghetto In the ghetto, ghetto, ghetto Little boy had a dream of being a ball player 'His little homie wanna grow to be a rhyme slayer Little missy wanna grow to be a model While the momma at home just drinking on the bottle Aye, how come little one to grow and be a councilman? Senator or governor, a mayor politician Probably 'cause the politicians keep tricking 'em Promise that they fixing it but they ain't really fixing it Aye, that's why they want to be like me Like Jigga like B and Nicky and Ri Every day in the ghettos is an emergency But the powers that be don't emerge and seek That's why you see killing, that's why you see crimes That's why you see the homies in the prison doing time That's why you see crack, that's why you see blacks trap With no access out the ghetto, ghetto It is easy as 1, 2, 3 I wanna be what's on TV And if that's wrong, please don't blame me 'Cause where I live we have nothing In the ghetto, ghetto, ghetto In the ghetto, ghetto, ghetto It is easy as 1, 2, 3 I wanna be what's on TV And if that's wrong, please don't blame me 'Cause where I live we have nothing In the ghetto, ghetto, ghetto In the ghetto, ghetto, ghetto Ghetto, ghetto Oh Lord, I've been, I've been praying for you Hallelujah, Lord save these children