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

car pulled up, a fixed up Cutlass
woman and a child climbed out and left [bad word] 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 [bad word] 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,  [bad word] 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 [bad word]  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 [bad word] back home to you
They can leave me for dead they can take away my [bad word] I'm [bad word] back home to you
Through the lies and the sins that ride the wind that blew
I'm [bad word] back home to you
As sure as the life in the garden that you grew
I'm [bad word] back home to you
No matter where I am, no matter what I do
I'm [bad word] back home to you
If only I had known what you already knew
I'm [bad word] back home to you
From the heaven I've had to the [bad word] I been through
I'm [bad word] back home to you
I'm [bad word] back home to you