Bring My Family Back

Beg you listen me, don't be kissin' me till I'm done

Unsung champion o' reason, like seasoning, I

Pepper your thoughts with spice and entice you to a space

Where I dwell with bass players and layers and loops

Think what I think with my prayers, it's nice

My world is everything I've become

Contained in the hum between voice and drum

I'm comin' from the same place I'm a-still runnin' from

But even sittin' in the garden, one can still get stung

Huh, I'm on Lonely Street, age, nearly three

Recently, mama's cryin' all the time, is it because of me?

Or my younger sister?  Even dad was weepin' when he kissed her

Face all puffy like a blister, cryin' like he missed her

Since we moved away from the house where we used to play

They say I'll understand one day, but I doubt it

Mama never say nothing about it

How'd it get to be so crowded? I found it a strain

Everywhere I look, I see pain

And I can't escape the feeling, maybe I'm to blame

So I strain to listen, prayin' for a decision, wishin'

They were kissin', this feels like extradition, or exile

Mama finds it hard to smile

So I make pretend cups of coffee in her favorite style

She says, "Child, I'm workin', so there's nothing you lack"

But she know, I want my dad, I want my family back

I'm on Lonely Street, age, forty-three

Couldn't gage when to quit, so my wife quit me

Took offense, took the kids

I wish that was the end

But before she took her leave, she took care of my best friend

Workin' all the hours, God send, was not the tactic

You see, 'cause after ten years, I'm left with jackdish

Wanted to make the cash quick, so I had to work real late

Bad sex, my woman's vex even if I stay awake

And if I'm honest, I had a likkle cake at the office

I was eatin'

We'd do our cheatin' over coffees

Makin' tea for the bosses

Makin' free with me

And I agree, I got sleazy too easily

But I'm forty-three

This doesn't usually happen to me

Now I'm lonely

I'm wonderin' what my son's doin' today

Suddenly, I'm blinkin' like the screen on my computer display

And I'm drinking, concerned about what's down the track

If I don't get my family back

Huh, I want my family back

Mmm, I want my family back

Huh, I'm on Lonely Street, number fifty-three

Boarded up properly, I'll probably get pulled down

Litter all around inside, there's no sound and no light

But, yo, it gets busy at night, people creepin'

Derelicts sneakin' into fix, speakin'

On the way, my timbers creakin', roof leakin'

And bricks comin' loose

Knee high in refuse

But even though I'm a slum, I'm still of some use

Huh, there was a time when my walls were decorated

And under my roof, children were educated

But now, paint's faded, windows are all smashed

A crash in the economy robbed me of my family

And no strategy combats negative equity

So that's it

Like violence, it's drastic

I'm freakin', and seekin' to more than just a house for crack

Somebody bring my family back