Mary

Up above my head
I hear the wind whippin'
Here come them ghetto birds again
On every street lamp
Cameras see you from a distance
So the light hittin' off the lens

And how we survive
Brothas still nickle-and-dime
Right underneath those lights
Tight-rope walking their life

It seems the cameras don't work
When we in danger and hurt
Not a siren to be heard
Left for dead in the dirt

Mary, don't you be ashamed to cry

Everywhere you looking
Another soul misguided
Thinking his pistol make him a man
Minimum wage ain't workin'
He want that fast money
Spend it as soon as it touch his hand

Why can't he see
He don't gotta try to be
The bullshit he hear on CD
Mockery of you and me
And I'll tell you what's worse
Heard it in so many a verse
This ghetto-livin' like a curse
Can't even find truth in the church

Mary, don't you be ashamed to cry
Mary, don't you be ashamed to cry

And now we survive
But it's still nickle-and-dime
Right underneath those lights
Tight-rope walking their life

It seems the cameras don't work
When we in danger and hurt
Not a siren to be heard
Left for dead in the dirt

Mary, don't you be ashamed to cry
Mary, don't you be ashamed to cry
Oh, mother Mary, don't you be ashamed to cry
Don't you be ashamed to cry
Mary, don't you be ashamed to cry