Musikvideo
Musikvideo
Credits
PERFORMING ARTISTS
Common
Performer
Vere Issac
Bass
COMPOSITION & LYRICS
James Poyser
Composer
Ernest Wilson
Composer
Lonnie Lynn
Composer
Stevie Wonder
Composer
Syreeta Wright
Composer
Lauryn Hill
Arranger
PRODUCTION & ENGINEERING
Common
Executive Producer
James Poyser
Producer
Lauryn Hill
Assistant Producer
Derek Dudley
Executive Producer
Storm Jefferson
Assistant Engineer
Tom Coyne
Mastering Engineer
Ernest Wilson
Producer
Warren Riker
Mixing Engineer
Songtexte
[Verse 1]
We gotta start respecting life more, y'all
You look at your brother, man, you gotta see yourself
Gotta see the god within him
We brothers getting changed real quick over nothing
We losing too many of ours
Gotta recreate, y'all
Yo, check it
[Verse 2]
Knowing you the best part of life, do I have the right to take yours?
'Cause I created you irresponsibly
Subconsciously knowing the act I was a part of
The start of something I'm not ready to bring into the world
Had myself believing I was sterile
I look into mother's stomach and wonder if you are a boy or a girl
Turning this woman's womb into a tomb
But she and I agree, a seed we don't need
You would've been much more than a mouth to feed
But someone, I would have fed this information I read
To someone, my life, for you I would have had to leave
Instead I led you to death
[Verse 3]
I'm sorry for taking your first breath, first step, and first cry
But I wasn't prepared mentally nor financially
Having a child shouldn't have to bring out the man in me
Plus, I wanted you to be raised within a family
I don't wanna go through the drama of having a baby's mama
Weekend visits and buying Js ain't gon' make me a father
For a while, bearing a child is something I never wanted to do
For me to live forever, I can only do that through you
Nerve, I got to talk about them **** with a gun
Must have really thought I was God to take the life of my son
I could've sacrificed going out
To think my homies who did it, I used to joke about
From now on, I'ma use self-control instead of birth control
'Cause 315 dollars ain't worth your soul
315 dollars ain't worth your soul
315 dollars ain't worth it
[Verse 4]
I never dreamed you'd leave in summer
You said you would be here when it rained
Yo
Why didn't you stay?
[Verse 5]
Seeing you as a present and a gift in itself
You had our child in you, I'll probably never feel what you felt
But, you dealt with it like the strong black woman you are
Through our trials and tribulations, child's elimination
An integration of thoughts I feel about the situation
Back and forth, my feelings was pacing
Happy deep down, but not joyed enough to have it
But even that's a lie, in less than two weeks we was back at it
Is this unprotected love or safe to say it's lust?
Busting more than the sweat in somebody you trust
Or is it that we don't trust each other enough?
And believe having this child'll make us have to stay together
Girl, I want you in my life 'cause you have made it better
Thinking we all in love 'cause we can spend the day together
We talking spending the rest of our lives
There's too many black women that can say they mothers
But can't say that they wives
[Verse 6]
I wouldn't choose any other mother my understanding
But I want our parenthood to come from planning
It's so much in my life that's undone
We gotta see eye to eye about family, before we can become one
If you had decided to have it, the situation I wouldn't run from
But I'm walking, finding myself and my God
So I can discipline my son with my writing
Not have a judge telling me how to raise my seed
Though his death was at our greed with no one else to blame
I had a book of African names in case our minds changed
You say your period hasn't came and lately I've been sleepy
So quit smoking the weed and the beadies and let's have this boy
[Verse 7]
I never dreamed you'd leave in summer
You said you would be here when it rained
(You say you would be here when it rained)
Oh, I never dreamed you'd leave in summer
Now the situation's made things change
Why didn't you stay?
(Why didn't you stay?)
[Verse 8]
I never dreamed you'd leave in summer
(In summer)
You said you would be here when it rained
(It rained, it rained)
Oh, I never dreamed you'd leave in summer
(You said you wouldn't leave)
Now, the situation's made things change
(Things changed)
Why didn't you stay?
[Verse 9]
Stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay
Stay
Why didn't you stay?
[Verse 10]
Hello, you've reached the hotel message center
You have one new message
The message is
Yo Soren, this is me, man
Um, I caught the dag a little earlier this evening
You know, we had good conversation
And uh, I guess it's saving my mind, man
Like uh, in terms of, uh, later
Now what you're doing right now, but from way later
You know, and uh, all the things we've been talking about
From 1529 on up
Then I'm just laying here, man, and, and, and I
I've got this impulse that I wanna set up boxing match
Or a challenge match
'Cause I got a feeling I wanna kick Jesse Jackson's ass, man
And uh, we need talk about it
'Cause I wanna get him in front of a ring, in front of everybody
I just wanna beat the shit outta him
You know, but you know, I know pops is crazy
But get back with me
Written by: Ernest Wilson, James Poyser, Lonnie Lynn, Stevie Wonder, Syreeta Wright