Talib Kweli - Get By

[Verse 1:]
We sell crack to our own out the back of our homes,
We smell the musk of the dusk in the crack of the dawn,
We go through episodes, too, like Attack of the Clones,
Work till we break our back and you hear the crack of the bone.
We're gonna get by, just to get by,
Just to get by, just to get by,
We commute to computers,
Spirits stay mute while you egos spread rumors,
We survivalists, turned to consumers
Just to get by, just to get by,
Just to get by, just to get by.
Ask Him why some people got to live in a trailer, cuss like a sailor,
I paint a picture with the pen like Norman Mailer.
Mi abuela raised three daughters all by herself with no help,
I think about her struggle and I find the strength in myself,
These words melt in my mouth,
They hot like the jail cell in the South
Before my nigga CORE bailed me out
To get by, just to get by,
Just to get by, just to get by.
We do or die like Bed-Stuy through the red sky
With the window of the red eye,
Let the lead fly, some G. Rap shit, livin' to let die.

[Chorus:]
This morning I woke up,
Feeling brand new, I jumped up
Feeling my highs and my lows
In my soul, and my goals
Just to stop smoking and stop drinking,
I've been thinking, I've got my reasons
Just to get by, just to get by,
Just to get by, just to get by!

[Verse 2:]
We keepin' it gangster say ‘fo shizzle', ‘fo sheezy' and stayin' crunk,
It's easy to pull a breezy, smoke trees and we stay drunk,
Yo, I activism attackin' the system,
The Blacks and Latins in prison,
Numbers have risen, they're victims lackin' the vision,
Shit, and all they got is rappin' to listen to.
I let them know we missin' you, the love is unconditional,
Even when the condition is critical, when the living is miserable,
Your position is pivotal, I ain't bullshittin' you.
Now why would I lie? Just to get by?
Just to get by, we get fly,
The TV got us reachin' for stars
Not the ones between Venus and Mars,
The ones that be readin' for parts.
Some people get breast enhancements and penis enlargers,
Saturday sinners Sunday morning at the feet of the Father,
They need something to rely on, we get high on all types of drug,
When all you really need is love
To get by, just to get by,
Just to get by, just to get by.
Our parents sing like John Lennon, imagine all the people watch,
We rock like Paul McCartney from now until the last Beatle drop.

[Chorus:]
This morning I woke up,
Feeling brand new, I jumped up
Feeling my highs and my lows
In my soul, and my goals
Just to stop smoking and stop drinking,
I've been thinking, I've got my reasons
Just to get by, just to get by,
Just to get by, just to get by!

[Outro:]
Yo, yo, yo, yo!
Some people cry, and some people try
Just to get by for a piece of the pie,
You love to eat and get high,
We deceive when we lie, and we keepin' it fly,
When the people decide to keep a disguise,
Can't see they eyes, see the evil inside,
But there's people you find
Strong or feeble in mind, I stay readin' the signs.