[Verse 1] Sometimes I just feel like quittin', I still might Why do I put up this fight? Why do I still write? Sometimes it's hard enough just dealin' with real life Sometimes I wanna jump on stage and just k** mics And show these people what my level of sk**'s like But I'm still white, sometimes I just hate life Somethin' ain't right, hit the brake lights Case of the stage fright, drawin' a blank, like Da-duh-duh-da-da, it ain't my fault Great big eyeballs, my insides crawl And I clam up {*wham*}, I just slam shut I just can't do it, my whole manhood's Just been stripped, I have just been vicked So I must then get off the bus, then split Man, f** this sh**; yo, I'm goin' the f** home World on my shoulders as I run back to this 8 Mile Road [Hook] I'm a man, I'ma make a new plan Time for me to just stand up and travel new land Time to really just take matters into my own hands Once I'm over these tracks, man, I'ma never look back (8 Mile Road) And I'm gone, I know right where I'm goin' Sorry, Momma, I'm grown, I must travel alone Ain't gon' follow no footsteps, I'm makin' my own Only way that I know how to escape from this 8 Mile Road [Verse 2] I'm walkin' these train tracks, tryin' to regain back The spirit I had 'fore I go back to the same crap To the same plant, in the same pants Tryin' to chase rap, gotta move ASAP And get a new plan, Momma's got a new man Poor little baby sister, she don't understand Sits in front of the TV, buries her nose in the pad And just colors until the crayon gets dull in her hand While she colors her big brother and mother and dad Ain't no tellin' what really goes on in her little head Wish I could be the daddy that neither one of us had But I keep runnin' from somethin' I never wanted so bad Sometimes I get upset, ‘cause I ain't blew up yet It's like I grew up, but I ain't grow me two nuts yet Don't gotta rep my step, don't got enough pep The pressure's too much, man, I'm just tryin' to do what's best And I try, sit alone and I cry Yo, I won't tell no lie, not a moment goes by That I don't pray to the sky, please, I'm beggin' you, God Please don't let me be pigeonholed in no regular job Yo, I hope you can hear me, homie, wherever you are Yo, I'm tellin' you, dawg, I'm bailin' this trailer tomorrow Tell my mother I love her, kiss baby sister goodbye Say whenever you need me, baby, I'm never too far But, yo, I gotta get out there, the only way I know And I'ma be back for you the second that I blow On everything I own, I'll make it on my own Off to work I go, back to this 8 Mile Road [Hook] I'm a man, gotta make a new plan Time for me to just stand up and travel new land Time to really just take matters into my own hands Once I'm over these tracks, man, I'ma never look back (8 Mile Road) And I'm gone, I know right where I'm goin' Sorry, Momma, I'm grown, I must travel alone Ain't gon' follow no footsteps, I'm makin' my own Only way that I know how to escape from this 8 Mile Road [Verse 3] You gotta live it to feel it; you didn't, you wouldn't get it Or see what the big deal is, why it was and it still is To be walkin' this borderline of Detroit city limits It's different, it's a certain significance, a certificate Of authenticity, you'd never even see But it's everything to me, it's my credibility You never seen, heard, smelled or met a real MC Who's incredible upon the same pedestal as me But yet I'm still unsigned, havin' a rough time Sit on the porch with all my friends and kick dumb rhymes Go to work and serve MC's in the lunchline But when it comes crunch time, where do my punchlines go? Who must I show to bust my flow? Where must I go? Who must I know? Or am I just another crab in the bucket? ‘Cause I ain't havin' no luck with this little Rabbit, so f** it Maybe I need a new outlet, I'm startin' to doubt sh** I'm feelin' a little skeptical who I hang out with I look like a bum, yo, my clothes ain't about sh** At the Salvation Army tryin' to salvage an outfit And it's cold, tryin' to travel this road Plus I feel like I'm always stuck in this battlin' mode My defenses are so up, but one thing I don't want Is pity from no one, this city is no fun There is no sun, and it's so dark Sometimes I feel like I'm just bein' pulled apart From each one of my limbs, by each one of my friends It's enough to just make me wanna jump out of my skin Sometimes I feel like a robot, sometimes I just know not What I'm doin', I just blow, my head is a stove top I just explode, the kettle gets so hot Sometimes my mouth just overloads the a** that I don't got But I've learned, it's time for me to U-turn Yo, it only takes one time for me to get burned Ain't no fallin' no next time I meet a new girl I can no longer play stupid or be immature I got every ingredient, all I need is the courage Like I already got the beat, all I need is the words Got the urge, suddenly it's a surge Suddenly a new burst of energy has occurred Time to show these Free World leaders the 3 and a third I am no longer scared now, I'm free as a bird Then I turn and cross over the median curb Hit the 'burbs and all you see is a blur from 8 Mile Road [Hook] I'm a man, gotta make a new plan Time for me to just stand up and travel new land Time to really just take matters into my own hands Once I'm over these tracks, man, I'ma never look back (8 Mile Road) And I'm gone, I know right where I'm goin' Sorry, Momma, I'm grown, I must travel alone Ain't gon' follow no footsteps, I'm makin' my own Only way that I know how to escape from this 8 Mile Road