Street Thug
Growing up on the streets deep in the barrio
Your life is so very different from all that I know
Violence seems to be an everyday event
Defending your homies at a second's notice
Loyalty to friends and loved ones is important
But sometimes the price you pay to do so is quite high
Selling drugs, using drugs, going to prison
They're all things you've seen and done
I know that barely scratches the surface of your life
Yet you have survived them all and become stronger
Things that would kill a lesser man or drive him insane
Here you still are before the world, all in one piece
They say you're nothing but a street thug
But I see so much more in you
Everyone just needs to open their eyes wider
I see a heart of gold and a poet's spirit
And that is just to start
You are anything but a street thug
I see you going to school and staying clean
Trying so much to turn things around
To keep your life on the straight and narrow
Very difficult in the best of times and places
Made even harder by all the ties you have
Sometimes it must feel like a giant noose
They say you're nothing but a street thug
But I see so much more in you
Everyone just needs to open their eyes wider
I see a man who would die to defend those he loves
A friend in the truest meaning of the word
You are everything but a street thug
Why is it so hard to believe yourself worthy of love?
I know your trust is not so easily won
You always play up your negative side to the hilt
But evil twins believe in you more than you do
Sometimes you are quick to anger and temper
You try to solve problems with your fists
You try to be exactly what they say, a thug
But too late, I have glimpsed the inner you
They say you're nothing but a street thug
Everyone better lock up their daughters
But I see so much more in you
You have a rare gift for words
Those you trust you'd do anything to protect
You are certainly not a street thug