[Hook: powerful female vocalist, big and full] We took the long way, round the fire station, past the park Three more blocks every mornin' just to keep us from the dark We took the long way, and you never asked me why Long way round, but, baby, we got there every time [Verse 1: gritty male rapper, steady] Seven-forty every mornin', she was standin' at the gate Ten years old, my sister, sayin', "Hurry, we'll be late" Straight down Delmar was a six-minute walk Past the corner with the men and the liquor store talk But she turned us left every mornin' at the light Round the fire station, wave at the trucks, hold on tight I complained every day, "This the long way, why?" She said, "The long way's prettier," and squinted at the sky Thought she was guardin' me, my sister in her braids Thought she was a soldier every step of them days [Hook: powerful female vocalist, big and full] We took the long way, round the fire station, past the park Three more blocks every mornin' just to keep us from the dark We took the long way, and you never asked me why Long way round, but, baby, we got there every time [Verse 2: gritty male rapper, harder] Then I got big, and I said, "I'll walk it on my own" Took Delmar straight, six minutes, and I'm gone Corner never touched me, men just nodded at the kid And I laughed about my sister and the long way that she did Daddy left, Mama worked, and she ran the whole place Packed my lunch, signed my slips, wiped the jelly off my face Now she's standin' in a white dress, shakin' in the hall And she asks me, "Will you walk me?" 'cause there's no one else at all I said, "Sis, I got you," and I took her by the arm Now I'm the one that's leadin', and I'm keepin' her from harm [Hook: powerful female vocalist starts the hook, the gritty male rapper sings it a bar behind her] We took the long way, round the fire station, past the park Three more blocks every mornin' just to keep us from the dark We took the long way, and you never asked me why Long way round, but, baby, we got there every time [Verse 3: powerful female vocalist, half-sung, half-rapped, her side of it] Baby brother, let me tell you what you never knew I was ten years old, and I was scared of Delmar too Mama said, "You walk him," and my knees were knockin' hard But I couldn't let you see it, so I walked us through the yard Every time I turned us left, I was turnin' from the fear You were never what I guarded, you're the reason I was here Walkin' you is how I learned to walk, and that's the truth I was never brave for me, I was only brave for you So take my arm, baby brother, and let 'em wait a while We got twenty minutes, take the long way down the aisle [Final Hook: powerful female vocalist and the gritty male rapper together] We took the long way, round the fire station, past the park Three more blocks every mornin' just to keep us from the dark We took the long way, and you never asked me why Long way round, but, baby, we got there every time [End]
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