[Verse 1: trash-talking older male MC, grinning] Card table in the yard, ribs fallin' off the bone Auntie on the speaker yellin' bids into her phone Got my daughter's brand-new husband sittin' right across from me Partner for the night, so now we finally gon' see Boy got a degree and a job up in the city Boy shuffles like a man who never touched a card, what a pity Big Joker, Little Joker, spades runnin' the show "What we bid, Pops?" Don't look at me, I don't know Only one rule at my table, and the rule's been the same You can talk all the trash, but you don't cheat in my game [Hook: trash-talking older male MC, bouncing] Don't renege on me, boy, don't you ever renege Every card on this table is a promise, every pledge You can lose the book, you can lose the night Renege on my baby, and you lose your seat for life [Verse 2: trash-talking older male MC, louder] First hand, he's quiet, countin' books with his lips Second hand, he's sweatin' through a plate of ribs and chips Third hand, I got a heart in my hand, clear as day Hearts led, and I cut it with a spade anyway Table went silent, Uncle Boo dropped his fork Cousin Neecy coughed a pickle halfway to New York Nobody sayin' nothin', 'cause it's my yard and my grill Twenty years I been the law here, and the law sits still Then the boy put down his cards, real slow, real clean Said, "Sir, you had a heart, and you know what that means" [Hook: trash-talking older male MC, bouncing] Don't renege on me, boy, don't you ever renege Every card on this table is a promise, every pledge You can lose the book, you can lose the night Renege on my baby, and you lose your seat for life [Bridge: older male MC, laughing, the organ riff and the claps] Called me out, called me out, at my own grill In front of Mama and the cousins and the neighbors on the hill Called me out with a "sir," didn't flinch, didn't blink That's the only test I had, and he passed it, I think [Verse 3: older male MC, proud and loud] Truth is, I reneged on purpose, had it planned since the ring Wanted to see if he would cheat with me or call the dirty thing 'Cause a man who lets me cheat is a man who lets it slide When the world tries cheatin' the girl right by his side Take the three-book penalty, go 'head and set me, son Lost the game by eleven, and I'm proud of what you done Now he sits at the head of the table, and I deal Go get my good chair, boy, that seat is yours for real [Final Hook: the older male MC cracks into falsetto on every "renege," then bounces back down] Don't renege on me, boy, don't you ever renege Every card on this table is a promise, every pledge You can lose the book, you can lose the night Renege on my baby, and you lose your seat for life [Outro: older male MC, laughing] Deal [End]
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