[Verse 1: El-P] I woke up early once again, that's four days straight I didn't wake you, baby, I just watched you lay In the radiation of the city sun I am in love with you, it is my only grace (Woo) You know how everything can seem a little out of place? All of my life, that seemed to be the only normal state So feelin' normal never really meant me feelin' sane And bein' clear about the truth and bein' sane have never really been the same I used to wanna get the chance to show the world I'm smart (Ha) Isn't that dumb? I should've focused mostly on the heart 'Cause I seen smarter people trample life like it's an art So bein' smart ain't what it used to be, that's fu*kin' dark You ever notice that the worst of us have all the chips? It really kinda takes the sheen off people gettin' rich Like maybe rich is not the holy, ever-lovin' King of nothin' fu*kers, know we know you're bluffin' You are dealing with the motherfu*kin' money-money runners [Verse 2: Killer Mike] It'd be a lie if I told you that I ever disdained the fortune and fame But the presence of the pleasure never abstained me from any of the pain When my mother transitioned to another plane, I was sitting on a plane Tellin' her to hold on, and she tried hard, but she just couldn't hang Been two years, truth is I'll probably never be the same Dead serious, it's a chore not to let myself go insane It's crippling, make you wanna lean on a cup of promethazine But my queen say she need a king, not another junkie, flunky rapper fiend Friends tell her, "He could be another Malcolm, he could be another Martin" She told her partner, "I need a husband more than the world need another martyr" Made in Atlanta, Georgia, where I use to ride the MARTA With a empty .22 in the front pocket of my Braves Starter Tryin' to make it out the mud as a baby father is much harder The same children that you love and adore, the court'll use to break and rob ya Circumstance woulda broke a weaker man, but I put it on my mama I'm a man of honor and the hardship made me a better money runner
[Verse 3: El-P] This is for the never heard, never even got a motherfu*kin' word This is for my sister, Sarah, honey, I'm so sorry you were hurt (Ayy) This is for the dawn, mama took a knock, had to change the locks Dusted up and brushed off and I watched, talk about a boss For the holders of a shred of heart even when you wanna fall apart When you're surrounded by the fog, treadin' water in the ice cold dark When they got you feelin' like a fox runnin' from another pack of dogs Put the pistol and the fist up in the air, we are there, swear to God [Verse 4: Killer Mike] Black child in America, the fact that I made it's magic Black and beautiful, the world broke my mama heart, and she died an addict God blessed me to redeem her in my thoughts, words, and my actions Satisfaction for the devil, goddammit, he'll never, ever have it This is for the do-gooders that the no-gooders used and then abused For the truth tellers tied to the whippin' post, left beaten, battered, bruised For the ones whose body hung from a tree like a piece of strange fruit Go hard, last words to the firing squad was, "fu*k you too" [Instrumental Break] [Outro: Matt Sweeney, Matt Sweeney & A$AP Ferg, A$AP Ferg] This is the story of a couple of small-time hustlers Framed by crooked cops and forced to make a run for their lives Nothin' but a bag of money, a stolen Buick Grand National And each other to their names They ain't friends, exactly These guys have a better chance of killin' each other Than beatin' the odds No sir, they're brothers, and when the chips are down I really don't think you wanna bet against Yankee and the Brave (Brave, Brave, Brave, Brave) Yankee and the Brave (Brave, Brave, Brave, Brave) Yankee and the Brave (Brave, Brave, Brave, Brave) Yankee and the Brave (Brave, Brave, Brave, Brave) Yankee and the Brave (Brave, Brave, Brave, Brave) Yankee and the Brave (Brave, Brave, Brave, Brave) Oh, Yankee and the Brave (Brave, Brave, Brave, Brave) Yankee and the Brave (Brave, Brave, Brave, Brave)