Keepin' it real I take a shot of Hennessy Now I'm strong enough to face the madness Nickel bag full of sess weed laced with hash Phone calls from my niggaz on the other side Two childhood friends just died, I couldn't cry A damn shame, when will we ever change And what remains from a 12 gauge to the brain Arguments with my boo is true I spend mo' time with my niggaz than I do with you But everywhere it's the same thang, that's the game I'll be damned if a thang changed, fuck the fame I'll be hustling to make a million Lord, knows ain't no love for us ghetto children, so we cold Rag top slowin' down, time to stop for gas Beep my horn for a hoochie with a proper ass, uh It ain't easy, that's my motto Drinkin' Tanqueray straight out the bottle Everybody wanna know if I'm insane My baby mama gotta mind full of silly games And all the drama got me stressin' like I'm hopeless, I can't cope Me and the homies smokin' roaches, 'cause we broke Late night, hangin' out till the sunrise gettin' high Watchin' the cops roll by It ain't easy, that's right It ain't easy being me Will I see the penitentiary or will I stay free It ain't easy being me Will I see the penitentiary or will I stay free It ain't easy being me Will I see the penitentiary or will I stay free I can't sleep, niggaz plottin' on to kill me while I'm dreamin' Wake up sweaty and screamin' 'cause I can hear them suckers schemin' Probably paranoid, problem is, them punks be fantasizin' A brother bite the bullet, open fire and I died I wonder why this the way it is, even now Lookin' out for these killer kids, 'cause they wild Bill Clinton can you recognize a nigga representin' Doin' 20 to life in San Quentin Gettin' calls from my nigga Mike Tyson, ain't nuttin' nice "Yo 'Pac, do somethin' righteous witcha life And even though you innocent you still a nigga, so they figure Rather have you behind bars than triggers" But I'm hold ya down and holla Thug Life, lickin' shots 'Til I see my niggaz free on the block But no it ain't easy 'Til I see my niggaz free, on the block, oh It ain't easy It ain't easy being me Will I see the penitentiary or will I stay free It ain't easy being me Will I see the penitentiary or will I stay free It ain't easy being me Will I see the penitentiary Lately been reminiscin' 'bout Peppermint Schnapps in Junior High hit the block Keep an eye on the cops while D-Boys slang rocks It's the project kid without a conscience I'm havin' dreams of hearin' screams at my concerts Me and all my childhood peers through the years, tryin' to stack a little green I was only seventeen, when I started servin' fiends And I wish there was another way to stack a dollar So my apoli', 'cause these hard times make me wanna holler Will I live to see tomorrow, am I fallin' off? I hit the weed and then proceed to say, "Fuck all of y'all" Ain't nobody down with me, I'm thuggin', I can't go home 'Cause muh-fuckers think I'm buggin' So now I'm in this high-powered cell at the county jail Punk judge got a grudge, can't post no bail What do I do in these county blues Gettin' battered and bruised by the you know who And these fakes get to shakin' when they face me Snakes ain't got enough nuts to replace me Sittin' in this, livin' hell, listenin' to niggaz yell Tryin' to torture 'em to tell, I'm gettin' mail But ain't nobody sayin' much The same old nuts is makin' bucks while these sluts is gettin' fucked They violated my probation And it seems I'll be goin' on a long vacation Meanwhile, it ain't easy No, it ain't easy It ain't easy being me Will I see the penitentiary or will I stay free It ain't easy being me Will I see the penitentiary or will I stay free It ain't easy being me Will I see the penitentiary or will I stay free It ain't easy being me Will I see the penitentiary or will I stay free It ain't easy being me Will I see the penitentiary or will I stay free It ain't easy, being me Will I see the penitentiary or will I stay free

Easy, easy, easy, easy It ain't easy, it ain't easy Easy, easy, easy... Yeah I used to be alright just saying goodnight Maybe see you tomorrow Yeah I could go a couple of days Just doing my thing Whatever I wanted But now, your kisses hit me like lightning Can't fight it, girl you put it on me Yeah you stone me, when you ain't with me I ain't nothing but lonely It ain't easy anymore When I'm walking out your door My feet drag across the floor And it just about kills me I hate picking up my keys I hate kissing you goodbye No i ain't gonna lie With that look in your eyes And your arms around me Girl believe me It ain't easy anymore No it ain't easy, that's for sure Something different 'bout a Friday night And the neon lights if you ain't beside me Now I love it when you call me on the phone Saying "hurry on home" you got something special on And it's just for me Damn you make it hard to leave It ain't easy anymore When I'm walking out your door My feet drag across the floor And it just about kills me I hate picking up my keys I hate kissing you goodbye No i ain't gonna lie With that look in your eyes And your arms around me Girl believe me It ain't easy leaving my baby in the bed And driving away knowing the last thing you said Was "don't go, don't leave, lay here with me" Girl you're making me crazy It ain't easy, no, no, no, it ain't easy It sure ain't baby, yeah baby It ain't easy anymore When I'm walking out your door My feet drag across the floor And it just about kills me I hate picking up my keys I hate kissing you goodbye No i ain't gonna lie With that look in your eyes And your arms around me Girl believe me It ain't easy anymore No it ain't easy, walking out your door Mmm, no it ain't easy, no, no No it ain't easy walking out your door It ain't easy, oh, it ain't easy

Yeah, yeah, yeah Yeah, yeah, yeah Yeah, yeah, yeah Come home to me Re-runs on TV Now you sit with me, I keep you safe And you listen to me everyday Season premiere I have no more fear No more judges, no more medicine When I talk to you, I take you in Ain't it easy Ain't it easy, ain't it easy, ain't it easy Ain't it easy, ain't it easy, ain't it easy Ain't it easy, ain't it easy, ain't it easy Ain't it easy, ain't it easy, ain't it easy I should have known That you had lost control Working every night until the dawn Find you sleeping with the headlights on Ain't it easy Ain't it easy, ain't it easy, ain't it easy Ain't it easy, ain't it easy, ain't it easy Ain't it easy, ain't it easy, ain't it easy Ain't it easy, ain't it easy, ain't it easy

Hey lady, you lady Cursing at your life You're a discontented mother And a regimented wife I 've no doubt You dream about the things you'll never do But I wish someone had a talk to me like I wanna talk to you Ooh, I've been to Georgia and California and anywhere I could run Took the hand of a preacher man And we made love in the sun But I ran out of places and friendly faces Because I had to be free I've been to paradise but I've never been to me... Please lady please lady Don't just walk away 'Cause I have this need to tell you Why I'm all alone today I can see so much of me Still living in your eyes Won't you share a part Of a weary heart that has lived a million lives Ooh, I've been to Nice and the Isle of Greece When I sipped champagne on a yacht I moved like Harlow in Monte Carlo And showed them what I've got I've been undressed by kings And I've seen some things that a woman ain't s'posed to see I've been to paradise but I've never been to me... Hey, you know what paradise is? It's a lie A fantasy we created about people and places As we like them to be But you know what truth is? It's that little baby you're holding And it's that man you fought with this morning The same one you are gonna make love to tonight That's truth that's love Sometimes I've been to crying for unborn children That might have made me complete But I, I took the sweet life I never knew I'd be bitter from the sweet I spent my life exploring The subtle whoring That costs too much to be free Hey lady I've been to paradise But I've never been to me... I've been to paradise - never been to me (I've been to Georgia and California, and anywhere I could run) I've been to paradise - never been to me (I've been to Nice and the isle of Greece While I sipped champagne on a yacht) I've been to paradise - never been to me

Wise man said just walk this way To the dawn of the light Wind will blow into your face As the years pass you by Hear this voice from deep inside It's the call of your heart Close your eyes and you will find Passage out of the dark Here I am (Here I am) Will you send me an angel Here I am (Here I am) In the land of the morning star Here I am (Here I am) Will you send me an angel Here I am (Here I am) In the land of the morning star Wise man said just find your place In the eye of the storm Seek the roses along the way Just beware of the thorns Here I am (Here I am) Will you send me an angel Here I am (Here I am) In the land of the morning star Wise man said just raise your hand And reach out for the spell Find the door to the promised land Just believe in yourself Hear this voice from deep inside It's the call of your heart Close your eyes and you will find The way out of the dark Here I am (Here I am) Will you send me an angel Here I am (Here I am) In the land of the morning star Here I am (Here I am) Will you send me an angel Here I am (Here I am) In the land of the morning star In the land of the morning star

Come lay your head an my heart Soon be apart, stay here the touch of morning I'm glad we're leaving as friends Baby, by the way I forgot to say Can't we try Love was never born to say goodbye Just another helpless fool in love is what I am But I don't give a damn Sorry, I forgot myself I guess that I'm just not myself And I know that we're not supposed to cry Love was supposed to die when people get to know each other In case I don't see you again Really wish you well Baby, this is hell Can't we try Love was never born to say goodbye Touch me one more time and make me feel that I'm alive And if we don't survive At least we'll have a moment here With honest pain and tears Then say goodbye Come lay your head down on my heart The morning suddenly leads you You know, yet I don't need you We can't go back to yesterday Go away Girl, I wished you'd stay Can't we try Love was never born to say goodbye Touch me one more time and make me feel that I'm alive And if we don't survive And we'll end like we began And even though it's over Can't we try Let's go back to yesterday Just another helpless fool in love is what I am But I don't give a damn See, once before I set you free I just got to hold you close to me Can't we try Love was never born to say goodbye I want you to touch me, touch me one more time and make me feel that I'm alive And if we don't survive Then we can end like we began And even though it's over Can't we try Let's go back to yesterday See, I'm just another, just another helpless fool in-in love is what I am But I don't give a damn See, once before I set you free I got to have you Can't we try Love was never born to say goodbye

Yesterday, I guess in time that's what I'll have to call today Somehow when the pain is now gone away A memory that's what everything we share Will have to be What my mind needs a sure way of protecting me The touch of time toward the gentle world we knew But our gentle world for loving you We found something that was real You taught me how to feel Guess I feel too much where we just meant To touch and go Maybe when I've had a little time to grow My mind won't remember but my heart will know When somewhere else is where i'm suppose to be You won't remember ever loving me When somewhere else is where I'm suppose to be You won't remember ever loving me