[Intro One: The Education of Sonny Carson]
'What they gives you, blood?'
'Three months, man.'
'Whatchu doin in here anyway? You oughta be home with your momma. How old are you boy?'
'Thirteen.'
'Thirteen? Damn, the ba*tards must be runnin' outta n***as to arrest.'
[Intro: Ghostface]
Yeah, ohh yeah, this goes out
To all the families that went through the struggle
Yeah, from the heart
It was all from the heart, everything was real
[Mary J.]
All that I got is you
And I'm so thankful I made it through
[Verse 1: Ghostface k**ah]
Yo, dwellin' in the past, flashbacks when I was young
Whoever thought that I'd have a baby girl and three sons
I'm goin' through this difficult stage I find it hard to believe
Why my Old Earth had so many seeds
But she's her own woman, and dude in me I respect that
I saw life for what it's really worth and took a step back
Family ain't family no more, we used to play ball
Eggs after school, eat grits cause we was poor
Grab the pliers for the channel, fix the hanger on the TV
Rockin each others pants to school wasn't easy
We survived winters, snotty nosed with no coats
We kept it real, but the older brother still had jokes
Sadly, daddy left me at the age of six
I didn't know nuttin' but mommy neatly packed his sh**
She cried, and grandma held the family down
I guess mommy wasn't strong enough, she just went down
Check it, fifteen of us in a three bedroom apartment
Roaches everywhere, cousins and aunts was there
Four in the bed, two at the foot, two at the head
I didn't like to sleep with Jon-Jon he peed the bed
Seven o'clock, pluckin' roaches out the cereal box
Some shared the same spoon, watchin' Saturday cartoons
Sugar water was our thing, every meal was no frills
In the summer, free lunch held us down like steel
And there was days I had to go to Tech's house with a note
Stating "Gloria can I borrow some food I'm dead broke"
So embarrasin' I couldn't stand to knock on they door
My friends might be laughin', I spent stamps in stores
Mommy where's the toilet paper, use the newspaper
Look Ms. Rose gave us a couch, she's the neighbor
Things was deep, my whole youth was sharper than cleats
Two brothers with muscular dystrophy, it k**ed me
But I remember this, moms would lick her finger tips
To wipe the coal out my eye before school wit her spit
Case worker had her runnin' back to face to face
I caught a case, housin' tried to throw us out of our place
Sometimes I look up at the stars and an*lyze the sky
And ask myself was I meant to be here... why?
Yeah, yo
[Hook: Mary J. Blige]
All that I got is you
And I'm so thankful I made it through
All that I got is you
And I'm so thankful I made it through
All that I got is you
And I'm so thankful I made it through
All that I got is you
And I'm so thankful I made it through
All that I got is you
And I'm so thankful I made it through
[Ghostface during the hook]
Word up mommy, I love you
Word up
It was all you, word, you brought me in like this
[Verse 2: Mary J. Blige]
I sit and think about
All the times we did without, yeah
I always said I woudn't cry
When I saw tears in your eyes
I understand that daddy's not here now
But some way or somehow, I will always be around, yeah
All the things that I did from this to them
Oh from d** to being there
Being down and out and I love you always
[Verse 3: Poppa Wu]
Yeah, you say
You see the universe, which consists of the sun moon and star
And them planets, that exist in my space
Like man woman and child
You understand?
We got to keep it real, and what reality
And reality will keep it real with us
I remember them good ol' days
Because see, that's the child I was
What made me the man I am today
See cause if you forget where you come from, heheh
You're never gonna make it where you're goin', aheh
Because you lost the reality of yourself
So take one stroll through your mind
And see what you will find
And you'll see a whole universe all over again
And again and again and again and again