Where I've Been

Mary J. Blige feat. Eve

[Intro]
To all the youth in the world
They think nobody understands
Well, I understand
That

Chorus
(Life) It's been hard for me
(Is) Tryin', struggling endlessly 
(Hard, you know) For where I been
That's no longer way I pack
(Hard, you know)
And where I'm goin'
That's not where I'm stoppin' at
(Life) It's been hard for me
(Is) Tryin', struggling endlessly 
(Hard, you know) For where I been
That's no longer way I pack
(Hard, you know)
And where I'm goin'
That's not where I'm stoppin' at

I grew up as a seventies baby
Brought up in poverty and sin
Makin' jokes at the crazy lady
Never cared how she was dealin' within
I knew all the words to Michael 
Jackson's album as a kid
And when it came to the biggest pressure
You know he wasn't my man

At the age of seven years old
A strange thing happened to me
Before I even saw 
My life had flashed before me
And I've got the marks to show
And it became a thing of duty
So I gotta let you know
That my life, that my life

Chorus
Chorus

Now momma's workin' hard all day
And she said this before she left home
Take care of your little brother
Have the place cleaned when I get home
All this priority
Me and Tonya had to learn to be grown
But half the time for me
It's like grown had seemed so low

Woke up and I'm seventeen
With nothing going for me
Except the fact that I sing
You know it hurts so much
From all the sites that I've seen
From abusing to holding drugs
You probably couldn't take some of the things
That I lived in my life

Chorus
Chorus while:
I understand
For all the youths out there
That don't think I know
I'm with you
I been there

It's hard in the streets, a jungle
I'm tellin' you, I'm tellin' you
Especially with your pretty colors
I'm tellin' you, I'm tellin' you
So stay low and keep it humble
I'm tellin' you, I'm tellin' you
Black women hold it down
Keep your feet on the ground
Black men keep searchin' gen'
And you'll be found

Chorus

[Eve]
In this world of continuous bullshit in full clip
Seems all we have to pass on is being useless
Broken homes, babies all alone, parents never there
No food, no clothes to wear, anger everywhere
Ain't no values being taught
No productive thoughts
Jealousy rules the world, take shit at any cost
Gotta change our state of life
Make it worth living
God gave us voices to speak
And that's our way of giving
It's so much bigger than the furs that you wear
What about encouraging the youths to do well
What about givin' back
What about unifying shit
We all black, get it together
Everybody's got they trials and tribulations
Learn to change the negative to positive situations
Don't hold the lessons that you've learned
Pass it on and accept the blessings that they earned

Chorus until fade