[Verse 1: Filipino Tagalog-accented male MC, raps it strong over the huge drums and kulintang gongs] Tondo gym, a tin roof, and a heavy bag of tape You were ninety pounds of trouble, and I couldn't get away I was the sparring partner, mahal, I was the wall you'd hit Took a hook to the jaw on a Tuesday, and I never got over it Now it's title night, the arena's shakin', twelve thousand loud And I'm the man in your corner with the water and the towel Round six, she's got you on the ropes, your legs are goin' slow Your left eye's swellin' shut, and the doctor's on his toes So I lean in through the ropes with the ice against your face And I tell you what I told you back in that tin-roof place [Hook: Filipino MC, sung strong, the gongs ringing on every line] When it gets too heavy, step in close and hold Head down on my shoulder till the round gets old Every time they pull us apart, I come right back in That's the clinch, mahal, that's the way we win [Verse 2: Filipina female MC raps the whole verse, fierce and proud, Filipino accent, the drums pounding] Twelve thousand screamin' Laban, and I only hear your voice Every round since I was nineteen, mahal, it was never a choice You think you're in my corner, but you got the whole thing turned I was in your corner first, the night your fightin' license burned Retina gone, the papers signed, you sittin' on the bed Big man in a paper gown with your hands around your head And I climbed up on that mattress, and I didn't need to speak Head down on your shoulder till the round got old that week So tonight when you say clinch, I know exactly what you mean I been holdin' you for ten years, baby, you just never seen [Hook: Filipino MC, sung, her ad-libs over the top] When it gets too heavy, step in close and hold Head down on my shoulder till the round gets old Every time they pull us apart, I come right back in That's the clinch, mahal, that's the way we win [Bridge: Filipino male MC, heavier, the drums landing like body shots] Twelve rounds, the last bell, and the cards are comin' in Split decision, I can't breathe, and they lift your glove to win I'm through the ropes before the man can even say your name Ref puts his hand between us like he did it all the game But the bell already rang, brother, the fight is over now Ain't a man in this whole building with the right to tell us how So we clinch in the middle of the ring with the paper fallin' down And she sings it in my ear while the whole place shakes the ground [Final Hook: hook handoff, the Filipina female MC sings it this time, the Filipino MC answering under her, every drum in] When it gets too heavy, step in close and hold Head down on my shoulder till the round gets old Every time they pull us apart, I come right back in That's the clinch, mahal, that's the way we win [End]
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