Lyrics
You either make it or you don’t, see your shot
Take it or you won’t get another one, say it isn’t so
Try to say I didn’t tell you and you’re lying
I just wanna be the good shepherd once before I’m dying, (X2)
It is my only dream to be a star, not the money not the cars
-I'd rather fly like an eagle, than only play for par
Used to stay caged in bars, now I got freedom
And younger blacks are falling in the trap I gotta lead ‘em
They used to call me lifer, said I’d always come back
My sense of self worth couldn’t let my life become that
I took my past experience and built myself up from scrap
Stayed out of crap, searching for salvation through rap
So here I’m at, proud to be the man that I’ve become
Hungry for the upper crust, still living with the crumbs
And I’m almost numb, seen a lot, heard more
Written too much and popped too many Tums
Still I, run from nightmares, scared to sleep
Staring in the mirror, that face is barely me
And then I see a kid who’s just like I was, a shy thug
And I bug and write, for the little good a rhyme does
You either make it or you don’t, see your shot
Take it or you won’t get another one, say it isn’t so
Try to say I didn’t tell you and you’re lying
I just wanna be the good shepherd once before I’m dying
You either make it or you don’t, see your shot
Take it or you won’t get another one, say it isn’t so
Try to say I didn’t tell you and you’re lying
I just wanna be the good shepherd once before I’m dying
I’m trying to reach out to the youth, speak up with the truth
Seen so many hung dry, I’m trying pre-cut the noose
Trying to liberate the flock through these cuts in the booth
Trying help the kids grow, my speech flushing the roots
Trying to lead them from the streets that keep ‘em tucking the tools
Back to the class, because we need em stuck in the schools
That information is the key to a world full of locked doors
I can’t count the wars, where no-one knows what they fought for
Used to spend my time locked up, often I got bored
Finally got sick of the game, quit and got top score
And I been hot for, a minute, cause I got more tracks
Than a junkie, when he can’t find a spot for
The next hit, I’m blessed by the Lord
With this spit, a gift I could never afford
To let slip, and all I had to do was believe
That my cell wouldn’t be the last thing that I’d see
You either make it or you don’t, see your shot
Take it or you won’t get another one, say it isn’t so
Try to say I didn’t tell you and you’re lying
I just wanna be the good shepherd once before I’m dying
You either make it or you don’t, see your shot
Take it or you won’t get another one, say it isn’t so
Try to say I didn’t tell you and you’re lying
I just wanna be the good shepherd once before I’m dying
I’ve seen good in the worst dudes, hard to believe
But it’s the things you don’t expect that are the hardest to see
And as an artist there’s a burden to put your thoughts into words
It’s like, speak now or forever hold your verse
You get one big shot, big shot, so take aim
Cause a champ places first and a chump places blame
Will you, carry the torch or extinguish the flame
Settle for mediocrity or push for the fame
And I wonder if the sheep can be shaved, thoughts of a humble shepherd
Watching his flock as they peacefully graze
Sometimes I wish that I could join ‘em in their ignorant daze
So I’m blazed most of my days, made crutches out of the haze
Still viewing life in shades of gray, changed my ways
But I’m watching all the innocence in kids fade away
Cause they’re prey to the images they witness and the trends
So they miss out on their youth, trying to fit in with their friends
You either make it or you don’t, see your shot
Take it or you won’t get another one, say it isn’t so
Try to say I didn’t tell you and you’re lying
I just wanna be the good shepherd once before I’m dying
You either make it or you don’t, see your shot
Take it or you won’t get another one, say it isn’t so
Try to say I didn’t tell you and you’re lying
I just wanna be the good shepherd once before I’m dying