He held the register open while he counted her change I was next in line which meant I was invisible From where I stood I could see that the till was full He didn't look the type to play superhero So I stepped forth and paid for my cigarettes Crept out the stores front door to chase a little breath Bengals in my head, shake the song off Another manic Monday night, its gonna be a long walk
A car pulled up, a fixed up Cutlass A woman and a child climbed out and left it running They went inside of the deli, placed an order With the extra dollar fifty bottled water 'cause the daughter's picky When they came out mommy gave me a glance That said, "Man can love an angel but he's got to take the chance" Already knew the deal, I lit one up and walked So they got back in the Oldsmobile, belted up, and took off
Thug love on the corner by the Walgreens Lookin' at me like I'm just another square saltine As I get closer I notice they showin' each other sketches Out of their notebooks, reminded me of my old roots
I walk past with a nod and a reminisce Swear to god hip hop and comic books was my genesis Respect the life in the fashions of the children It's the only culture I've got, exactly what we've been buildin'
All of a sudden I'm in front of some man No he's a youngin' but he's got a gun in his hand He looks fifteen, he looks frantic, no he looks afraid Immediately apprehensive til I heard him say "Do you want this? It's not mine I promise I found it on my block in between a couple garages Didn't wanna leave it for a child to stumble over I don't even know how to hold it."
It was a thirty-eight, the poor man's machete Held it in my hand, thinking, "Damn man it's heavier than expected," wedged it behind my belt buckle knowin' that its evil, even thought that I could smell trouble the extra strength felt weak, but over there on the corner saw what I needed and proceeded across the street put the heat in a mail box to lose it figured that the post office knows what's best to do with it
Mosey down the road thinkin' 'bout the old I use to roam this zone with two feet of snow Right here, this use to be a record shop I've gotten love, I've gotten drunk, I've gotten beat up in that parking lot I've had my Lake Street pride for three decades These alleyways, and these streetlights have seen my best days Before I was a germ learnin how to misbehave, All the way to the grave, south side is my resting place
Took a right on Lyndale I'm getting near But then the road became empty and the people disappeared The clouds ran away, opened up the sky And one by one I watched every constellation die And there I was frozen, standin' in my backyard Face to face, eye to eye, starin' at the last star I should've known, walked all the way home To find that she wasn't here, I was still all alone
No matter where I am, no matter what I do I'm always coming back home to you They can leave me for dead they can take away my true I'm always coming back home to you Through the lies and the sins that ride the wind that blew I'm always coming back home to you As sure as the life in the garden that you grew I'm always coming back home to you No matter where I am, no matter what I do I'm always coming back home to you If only I had known what you already knew I'm always coming back home to you From the heaven I've had to the hell I been through I'm always coming back home to you I'm always coming back home to you