Why Oh Why

I say my prayers every morning just like orange juice

I crack the crinkles out my body till I'm feelin' loose

I put my sneakers on my feet like they was combat boots

They fit my feet like Cinderella when I'm shootin' hoops

Why, oh, why the memories be chasin' me?

Sometimes it makes me wanna pack my shit and flee

Sometimes I wanna blow my brains to put my life at ease

But I ain't clockin' out, I gotta see the seven seas

Please, seven's a very lucky number for me

That was the age when I discovered how good ballin' could be

Up every morning with the birdies doin' little drills

Go to my left, go to my right, developin' mad skills

How could a love for this game bring so much sadness?

I play with brothers with so much badness

But now they gone, I sing a song, pop a three

From the top of the key in they memory

Why, oh, why the memories be chasin' me?

Sometimes it makes me wanna pack my shit and flee

Even in seasons when it's another color sport

I still be memorizin' lines out on the basketball court

Singin' why, oh, why the memories be chasin' me?

Sometimes it makes me wanna pack my shit and flee

Even in seasons when it's another color sport

I be rememberin' my partners on the basketball court

Do you remember runnin' the court in September?

Me and my homies, we down for whoever

Would come along and try to send us to the showers

From the game that we been dominatin' there for hours

All day, to be more specific, East to West, from Atlantic to Pacific

Fools would come round to get down and try to take our crown

But we will hold our ground and we will never back down

Old timers, new timers would get in line there

And take a seat there and try to prepare

But oh, no, there was no chance when we was in the zone

We was alone at the top, we had hops, we got props

And when we needed to, we busted chops

Wipe the court with your game like we was usin' mops

Whatever happened to the super hoopers in the park?

I reminisce while shootin' solitary after dark

Why, oh, why the memories be chasin' me?

Sometimes it makes me wanna grab my shit and flee

Even in seasons when it's another color sport

I still be memorizin' lines out on the basketball court

Singin' why, oh, why the memories be chasin' me?

Sometimes it makes me wanna grab my shit and flee

Even in seasons when it's another color sport

I be rememberin' my partners on the basketball court

(Why, oh, why?)

(Why, oh, why?)

Brother C came fresh from out of town

And he handles, and like McDonalds, he could clown you

Dribblin' baby bounces between drinkin' forty ounces

Knock you on your heel and do circles like he was Curly Neal

But oh, no, the liquor got quicker to his head

And he said "I think I must've placed some stupid bets"

He hit me up for some cash, there was a car crash

A splash and then the brother made a mad dash

Rob, oh, Rob, his whole life was like a rollercoaster

But on the court he looked like a Doctor J poster

Flyin' high with an afro blowin' in the wind

Wipin' Windex, index finger rolls off the glass

Then swish through the net, jump a Corvette with a triple pirouette

But off the court he had a few temptations

Copulations, no moderation

By twenty-four he had three pregnations

Last check, crack intoxication

So many other brothers gone from this dimension

And none of those who got hurt received a pension

Give a bop-bop to those locked up in detention

Memories, too many to mention

And we say one more time (One more time)

Why, oh, why the memories be chasin' me?

Sometimes it makes me wanna grab my shit and flee

Even in seasons when it's another color sport

I still be memorizin' lines out on the basketball court

Singin' why, oh, why the memories be chasin' me?

Sometimes it makes me wanna grab my shit and flee

Even in seasons when it's another color sport

I be rememberin' my partners on the basketball court