The Other Side of Town

<br>Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen. sorry to bother you today. my name is<br><br>Joe. and, um, Im not on crack, I dont do drugs, Im just trying to get<br><br>Something to eat. if you can give just a penny, a nickel..a dime, a<br><br>Quarter..anything will be greatly appreciated. thank you for your time...<br><br>And have a nice day.<br><br><br><br>How do you do? <br><br>Im from the other side of town<br><br>The place where the only skin you see is the color brown<br><br>The sun never shines in this place where I live<br><br>And its hard to do right when you feel negative<br><br>I have no compassion<br><br>I only know agression<br><br>And there is nothing great about this opression<br><br>People I see on tv, in there towns live the good life<br><br>But I live out of bounds<br><br>Where nobody comes unless theyre forced to come<br><br>In school, they call me the bum from the slum<br><br>But they dont know<br><br>My sista has no food to eat<br><br>And her hand-me-down shoes are too tight for her feet<br><br>The way I see things, life isnt fair<br><br>So I never learned how to share or to care<br><br>But to hope - and hope<br><br>Instead of feeling down<br><br>And thats how it is<br><br>On the other side of town<br><br><br><br>I live on the other side of town<br><br><br><br>Pardon me, brotha<br><br>As you stand in your glory<br><br>I hope you dont mind as I tell the whole story<br><br>Some people livin life like fun in the sun<br><br>But yo, others are givin strife, and thats all they know<br><br>I feel no comfort in talks from the president<br><br>So put back on cosby<br><br>A shack is my resident<br><br>I think if I ever die, it might be a blessin<br><br>Some say I never try, but why are they stressin<br><br>Ill never get ahead; my raps have a better chance<br><br>Im livin on wonder bread with holes in my leather pants<br><br>Im not on the drug scene; they call me a crack head<br><br>I just had a bugged dream that I was a black man<br><br>Workin in the hospital<br><br>Then in came in a half-dead rich bitch<br><br>Yo, they must be insane<br><br>You think I would save her? <br><br>Yo, she wouldnt save me<br><br>I asked for a quater once, and guess what she gave me<br><br>A fuckin penny<br><br>A ? quarter? costs half a mill<br><br>If its up to me, yo, shes pushin up dafodils<br><br>In a casket<br><br>Paybacks a female dog<br><br>Yo, send her ass to the morgue<br><br>Then I woke up, and I sat with a frown<br><br>Damn, I woke up<br><br>But on the other side of town<br><br><br><br>The other side of town<br><br><br><br>My teachers a fat man<br><br>Yo, how can they tempt me so<br><br>Fuck geometry, my stomach is empty, yo<br><br>Cant you teach me to win this crazy game? <br><br>You and I are in so many ways the same<br><br>People tell me, but I dont believe that shit<br><br>Why do you sell me a dream, then leave me spit? <br><br>The truth is bare, and so is my cupboards, too<br><br>I wonder what could even l. ron hubbard do<br><br>Because my mind right now is on the brink of breakin<br><br>Yo, look how I think<br><br>I think Ill stick up the store with the arab guy<br><br>Im sick of him anyway; his prices are too high<br><br>Or maybe Ill start sellin avon door-to-door<br><br>Then pull a jammy, and make a bigger score<br><br>Nah, maybe Ill start sellin dope for my cous<br><br>Then I could drive the same car he does<br><br>The life of a poor man<br><br>Consider me desperate<br><br>I sleep in a cold room<br><br>And wish I could just get<br><br>A piece of the pie<br><br>Is that asking too much? <br><br>I cant even reach what others have in their clutch<br><br>I wish I could go on, but I have to end this<br><br>And get back to livin a life that is winless<br><br>Theres no use swimmin, so I might as well drown<br><br>In my sorrows<br><br>Cause tomorrows the other side of town<br><br><br><br>The other side of town<br><br>The other side of town