The Roots - Water lyrics

South Philly, Northside oakland, Texas
Georgia, Black people ugh, ugh, ugh, yo
Worldwide, it's for my nigga
Know what I'm saying? Yo dumb and blind

They say a record ain't nothing
If it's not touching, gripping
Draw you in closer
Make you want to listen to it
And if you real ill at making music
The listener feel like he living through it
That's how my nigga do it
I met Slacks back in Lyte, '91, rapping
We went to Millersville to
Get away from gun-clapping
It ain't last I be in class dreaming 'bout
Fifty thousand fans up in the stands
Screaming out:
"Encore!" Yo, I'm headed back to Philly
Nigga, you rollin' with me?
I'm tryna get busy


We walked dogs that was off the chain
Lot of times, at the shows
People hardly came
I just took it in stride as part of the game
But inside
People down with me started to change
It was a couple things: lil' syrup
Lil' pills
Instead of riding out on the road
You'd rather chill
I know the way the pleasure
Feel I'm not judging
But still I'm on a mission, yo
I'm not bugging
I got fam that can't stop drugging
They can't sleep
They can't stick to one subject
They can't eat
It's people steady coming at me
Out in the street
Like, "'Riq, yo, what up with
Your peeps?" It gets deep, nigga

Yo, you need to walk straight
Master your high
Son, you missing out on what's passing you by
I done seen the streets suck
A lot of cats dry
But not you and I, my nigga, we got to get
Come on over, over the water
Come on over, over the water
Yo, water, come on, water
Ugh, ugh-ugh, ugh-ugh

Yo, we done been through many meals
A couple of deals
We done shared clothes and wheels
Killed mics and reels
We done rocked shows abroad
And slept on floors
Tryna figure what the fuck we
Getting slept on for
Or what we walking with the weapon for
Weighted by the gravity law
You'd know it if you came up poor, my nigga
Picture the bus up north
You know we made of everything
Outlaws are made of i'm far from a hater
And I don't say I love you
'cause the way I feel is greater
And M-Ila, you a poet, son
You a born creator
And this'll probably dawn on you later
It's in your nature
Lyrics all on your walls like
They made of paper you got to find out where
Your talent take you
You might fuck around, finally make it
And that's real, but

Yo, you need to walk straight
Master your high
Son, you missing out on what's passing you by
I done seen the streets suck
A lot of cats dry
But not you and I, my nigga, we got to get
Come on over, over the water
Come on over, over the water
Yo, water, come on, water
Ugh, ugh-ugh, ugh-ugh

Yo, I want you all to understand:
I come from South Philly
And when I walk the street
It's like a pharmacy
They got all type of shit anybody could get
It go from H to X to loosie cigarettes
For my ghetto legend
Known for lil' sheist' running
Copped codeine by the quarts and keep comin'
Dumbing, just embracing the dope
Like it's a woman
You burning both sides of the
Rope and just pulling, tugging
In between Islam and straight thugging
Laying every day around the
Way and doing nothing
See 'em looking, shaking their head
And start shrugging
If they don't got a man like mine
They got a cousin
Ayo, you better be a true friend to him
Before this shit put an end to him
Or give a pen to him
Or lock him in the studio with a mic
'Cause on the real
It might save his life keep telling 'em!

Yo, you need to walk straight
Master your high
Son, you missing out on what's passing you by
I done seen the streets suck
A lot of cats dry
But not you and I, my nigga, we got to get
Come on over, over the water
Come on over, over the water
Yo, water, come on, water
Ugh, ugh-ugh, ugh-ugh
Yo, you need to walk straight
Master your high
Son, you missing out on what's passing you by
I done seen the streets suck
A lot of cats dry
But not you and I, my nigga, we got to get
Come on over, over the water
Come on over, over the water
Yo, water, come on, water
Ugh, ugh-ugh, ugh-ugh