Agony is the key to a happy life
You can't know joy if you don't know strife
There's no good or bad by itself
You can't have poverty if there is no wealth
My dad is an optimistic man
My dad is an optimistic man
(Everybody's gonna wanna dis you)
They'll build you up and they'll break you down
But you're stronger for the next time they come around
They'll smile in your face and they'll give you praise
And they try to destroy you in a thousand different ways
Cause with every bad there's a little good
And with every good there's a little bad
So you're gonna get happy and you're gonna get sad
So keep movin on like my good ol' dad
Cause agony is the key to a happy life
There's no Tribe Called Quest if there is no Phife
Agony is the key to a happy life
I like my ice cream straight and I like it fried
In actuality, I mean in reality
The words that I speak are a mere hypothesis
Pure agony might not be what it's about
But comparisons of one state to another, no doubt
Agony might be more than I can claim
I have no pure joy and I have no pain
I know a person we can ask who's known Agony
A grandmaster on the mic, Percy Carey
With hardy laughter from my heart and tears pouring from my sockets
I pa** the mic along, Grimm Reaper rock it
Hundreds of years, hell's been America
Auctioned of yes, sold like eBay
Told to be a good boy, listen to what they say
Don't get smart boy, life will be easy
Try to run boy, the dogs get angry
Picked at cotton in the field, be happy
What you say to me, you nappy
Head little n***a, talkin' back
String him up good, then we whip off the black
Speed time up, meanwhile tell some facts
Power to the people? Nah, Nixon k**ed that
Nas pimpin' all the women, yeah b**hes gettin' smacked
Speed up time, whole nation on crack
Drug wars and ghetto, dealers kidnapped
Ransom not paid, found all hacked
Hip hop daisy age, peace knapsacks
Now we in the dizzy age, gangster rap
Everyone is strapped, in the street bustin' caps
Someone come save us, please cause we're trapped
Taste all the agony, put some fear in ya
Get home safe now, goodbye America