"Your life has been marked by considerable pain.. Do you think you'll ever get to the point where you can live A normal, happy life?"
No, but.. I.. I'm goin' for it.. I'm tryin' for it And until then..I have to make the life that I do live As happy as I can and try to do the best with what I have Do.. you know, live the best life I can live Be as happy as I can be.. nothing is perfect for anybody I don't think
I know it seems harsh sometimes, but.. Remember one thing.. To every dark night, there's a bright day after that All my homeboys and my homegirls, stay strong When things get bad, especially come the first and the fifteenth So no matter how hard it get, stick you chest out, keep your head up.. And handle it! Hold on.. I'll catch y'all up in the next life We're in traffic
Ay do this Thug style main, Thug style When this whole beat drop we just gon' run it to 'em bet It's all good, uhh
[2Pac] I never had much, ran with a bad bunch Little skinny kid sneakin' weed in my bag lunch And all through Junior High, we was just gettin' by And driveby's robbed my homies of their young lives I never did cry, and even though I had Pain in my heart, I was hopeless from the start They couldn't tell me nothin', they all tried to help to help me The marijuana had my mind gone it wasn't healthy I travelled places, caught cases, what a ill year I felt the pain and the rain but I'm still here Never did like the police, let the whole world know Now I gets no peace, cause they chasin' me down And facing me now, what do I do? These thangs that a Thug goes through And still I rise so keep ya head up, and make ya mind strong It's a struggle every day but you gotta hold on
[Hook: repeat 2X]
I wish I could take the pain away If you can make it through the night, there's a brighter day Everything will be alright if you hold on It's a struggle everyday, you gotta roll on
[2Pac] There's, never a good day, cause in my hood they Let they AK's pump strays where the kids play And every Halloween, check out the murder scene Can't help but duplicate the violence seen on the screen My homies dyin 'fore they get to see they birthdays These is the worst days, sometimes it hurts to pray And even God turned his back on the ghetto youth I know that ain't the truth, sometimes I look for proof I wonder if heaven got a ghetto, and if it does Does it matter if you blood or you cuz Remember how it was, the picnics and the parties in the projects Small time drinkin getting high with them armies Just another knucklehead kid from the gutter I'm dealin' with the madness, raised by a single mother I'm tryin' to tell you when it's on You gotta keep your head to the sky and be strong, most of all hold on
[Hook]
[Interlude:]
I know them ain't tears coming down your face When it's on it's on but wipe your eyes In this world only the strong survive y'know Hmm, I know it's hard out there Welfare, AIDS, earthquakes, muggings, carjackings Yeah we got problems but believe me when I tell you Things always get better God don't like ugly And God don't like no quitters You know what Billie Holiday said bay-bee God bless the child that can hold his own Y'know? You got to stand strong And when these bustas try to knock you out your place You stand there to they face tell em hold on, and be strong The game don't stop, Hmmm Hold on, and be strong, this here is Black Man
[Outro] If you don't never leave nothin, learn one thing It don't stop, til the casket drop Hold on