I was an outcast, outsider, trouble maker
A lost soul, outta control, in danger
Didn't have a care in the world, my feelings were numb
Never showin' emotion is easy for some
I don't know how it happened, how 
I got to this point
But I needed a way out, 
I was stuck in a ploy
I needed another path or 
I'd self destruct
I was down on my luck, my head was so fucked
A menace rollin' the streets is what 
I wasHoldin' my heat and rollin' with the serious thugs
You couldn't tell me a thing, 
I was like my brother
Words went in one ear and out the other
Slangin' and bangin' with a chip on my shoulder
An insane, hit the brain, certified street soldier
So close to the grave at an early age
Can't tell you the price 
I've paidOh, the sky overhead is like a canvas of gray
I don't know how much time 
I'll be given to stay
From the first spring to light 'til the end of the day
I'm just livin' my life 'til they come carry me away
I've been there in 
LA nights in the block where 
I came upMy pops used to hate when we hanged with them bangers
Guess he knew one day that will become us
That's just how it is when you live where we come from
Fight, don't run, is the motto we live by
Get 'em on the ground and stomp a mind about ten times
Sure, we was just kids back then
I had no remorse for what we did back then
Six of us, one call, we'd all pack in
Hit the strip and go and get the shit crack in
Gun wars and drug deals, 
I seen 'em happen
When I started losin' home, boys, 
I wasn't laughin'
I looked all around and seen none of 'em there
That's when 
I figured out that nobody cared
If we lived or die, we'll just get high and dry
And I wasn't gonna let this happen one more time
Oh, the sky overhead is like a canvas of gray
I don't know how much time 
I'll be given to stay
From the first spring to light 'til the end of the day
I'm just livin' my life 'til they come carry me away
My mother would stand for me every step of the way
She didn't judge me, she told me 
I'd win some day
When I was at my lowest, when 
I had no focus
She pulled me out the gutter, said 
I wasn't hopeless
Every night she prayed for me, 
I was out on the street
Chillin' on the corner with the hand on my heat
Eyes open wide for the pigs and foes
It's an everyday hazard when you hustle for dough
So many nights 
I didn't come home, she thought the worst
Maybe somebody shot me down without any remorse
Maybe I hurt somebody and 
I was stuck in a cell
Well, I regret all those times that 
I put her through hell
When I reflect back on those days, my heart aches
And everybody 
I lost or let down, 
I wish I could take it all back
And make it better but 
I can't, so 
I try to make amends
And be there through thick and thin
Oh, the sky overhead is like a canvas of gray
I don't know how much time 
I'll be given to stay
From the first spring to light 'til the end of the day
I'm just livin' my life 'til they come carry me away
Come,, carry me away
Come carry me away
Come, carry me away
Come, carry me away