[Verse 1] Yellow tape dancing where the kids used to play, Another mama got a phone call she feared every day, Young boy had a dream, had his whole life mapped, Now his picture on a shirt and his name on a cap. Sixteen years old, never made it to grown, Had plans for his mama, said he’d buy her a home, But the street got a code and the code got a price, One wrong night can take the rest of your life. Candles on the corner, everybody dressed black, Same brothers saying, “Man, I wish we had him back,” Then tomorrow comes around and the anger comes too, Another kid grabs a piece thinking that’s what men do. We’ve heard all the speeches, Politicians come around when the cameras hit the street, Heroes came and went, names painted on the wall, But the mothers keep crying and the young ones still fall. [Chorus] Same streets, same pain, Another mama calling out her baby’s name, Too young, too soon — here we go again, Same streets, same pain. [Verse 2] Look, We grew where respect could get measured by fear, Where you learn who your brothers are when trouble gets near, Where the sirens sing louder than the birds in the morning, And another black suit means another family’s mourning. I understand the code, I know why it exists, When you come from the bottom, loyalty’s all that you get, But how many little brothers gotta turn into names? How many mothers gotta bury what they carried through pain? Don’t tell me “be patient,” they’ve been saying that for years, Don’t tell me “there’s hope” while she’s drowning in tears, We had leaders, had legends, had voices with truth, Still the graveyard keeps filling up with somebody’s youth. And the street still got beauty — that’s the hardest damn part, There’s love on these corners, there’s loyalty and heart, But somewhere we confused being hard with being cold, Now the young die young before they ever get old. [Chorus] Same streets, same pain, Another mama calling out her baby’s name, Too young, too soon — here we go again, Same streets, same pain.
0/500