Up above my head I hear the wind whippin' Here come them ghetto birds again On every street lamp Cameras see you from a distance So the light hittin' off the lens And how we survive Brothas still nickle-and-dime Right underneath those lights Tight-rope walking their life It seems the cameras don't work When we in danger and hurt Not a siren to be heard Left for dead in the dirt Mary, don't you be ashamed to cry Everywhere you looking Another soul misguided Thinking his pistol make him a man Minimum wage ain't workin' He want that fast money Spend it as soon as it touch his hand Why can't he see He don't gotta try to be The bullsh** he hear on CD
Mockery of you and me And I'll tell you what's worse Heard it in so many a verse This ghetto-livin' like a curse Can't even find truth in the church Mary, don't you be ashamed to cry Mary, don't you be ashamed to cry And now we survive But it's still nickle-and-dime Right underneath those lights Tight-rope walking their life It seems the cameras don't work When we in danger and hurt Not a siren to be heard Left for dead in the dirt Mary, don't you be ashamed to cry Mary, don't you be ashamed to cry Oh, mother Mary, don't you be ashamed to cry Don't you be ashamed to cry Mary, don't you be ashamed to cry