Lyrics: John Barnes III
Music: John Barnes III/Aleksander Thomas Manfredi
[Intro]
But God knows I need that
[Chorus: Blu]
Hard times (Uh, hard times)
All the time (All the time)
Fall in line
This one is all mine (Uh-huh, it's all, ain't no way)
Ain't no way you're takin' this one from me (Ain't no way, uh-huh)
Ain't no way you're takin' this one from me (Yeah, DS, ain't no way)
Ain't no way you're takin' this one from me (Check it out)
Uh, uh
[Verse 1: Blu]
Extension cables runnin' from the neighbors' house to ours
To keep the lights on when the times got hard
We borrowed jumper cables just to start the car
Man, we can't believe that we made it this far
Livin' with our grandmas
'Cause our parents wеre too poor and we couldn't afford to pay the landlord
But wе praise the Lord every Sunday morn'
Beggin' the congregation to give money to the poor (Uh)
Which was us, but we didn't let 'em know
We would borrow fifty bucks to put food up on the stove
Those were the times we remembered the most
Because the struggles we shared happened to bring us close
Eatin' peanut butter and jelly with crackers
Because that's all we had in the cabinets
Government cheese and bread, made a sandwich
And any time you do wrong in life, you get your ass whipped
[Chorus: Blu]
Hard times (Uh, hard times)
All the time (All the time)
Fall in line
This one is all mine (Yeah, uh-huh, it's all, ain't no way)
Ain't no way you're takin' this one from me (Ain't no way)
Ain't no way you're takin' this one from me (Ain't no way)
Ain't no way you're takin' this one from me (Yeah)
Uh
[Verse 2: Exile]
Hard times like Run-D.M.
See the p.m., goin' to bed with no dinner to feed him
Food stamps was misleadin', thought that she was treatin'
But mom would sell the food stamps to go and have a wild weekend
But we got the block of cheese from the government
And powdered milk you'd add water to like a supplement
While other kids was gettin' fat like a pufferfish
We would steal pizza that people left, but that's irrelevant
Only the first we was paid
So we'd take sugar and lemons at Carls Jr. to make some lemonade
Ask for crackers 'cause the cracker was free to feed me
But on the first of the months, we had sugar for the Wheaties
My nickname was Wheaty because
My sister didn't know how to pronounce from when my mom called me sweetie
So that stuck like no bucks, stuck to the fam bam
Section 8, was like, "Damn," with no Denny's for the Grand Slam
Was sneakin' into school to play wiffle ball
Saggin' two sizes up, man, my pants didn't fit at all
Rat tail with the braid, too young to get laid
But I did it at thirteen and I didn't quit it
I guess the cigarettes too, pimpin' liquors like a fool
Doin' dumb shit, writin' graphs, smokin' and ditchin' school (Uh, uh)
I should've stuck to playin' ball, instead of taggin', now I'm off to juvie hall
Livin' these
[Chorus: Blu & Fashawn]
Hard times (Uh, hard times)
All the time (All the time)
Fall in line
This one is all mine (Uh-huh, it's all, ain't no way)
Ain't no way you're takin' this one from me (Ain't no way)
Ain't no way you're takin' this one from me (Ain't no way)
Ain't no way you're takin' this one from me (Hmm, yeah, uh)
[Verse 3: Fashawn]
Lord, I miss my uncle, I miss my father
I thought those hard times, but shit got harder
One night, they tried to turn the kid to a martyr
But luckily I made it home to kiss my daughter
Drama was consistent, mama always missin'
Comin' home from school, findin' condoms in the kitchen
While I'm tryna do the dishes, listen to some Limp Bizkit
That's coke, it ain't Bisquick, I knew it tastes different (Damn)
Ended up in jail, sittin', watchin' time tickin'
Sleep deprived, wide awake with one eye twitchin'
Woke up in the hospital, I should've died instant
My heart turned to concrete, I haven't cried since then
Can't take somethin' from me that was God-given
From the ghetto, out of blunt ashes I've risen
Felt out of place, had to get in where I fit in
Fast forward, still the memories ain't so distant
Days we was hungry
Days kids from the rival gangs tried to jump me
Let my knuckles swing 'til they bloody
I swear it ain't the same, lil' buddy
Gave you the black eye, yeah, this game's gettin' ugly
I'll tell you 'bout these
[Chorus: Blu & Fashawn]
Hard times (Uh, hard times)
All the time (All the time, all the time)
Fall in line (You gotta fall in line)
This one is all mine (Uh-huh, all mine, it's all, ain't no way)
Ain't no way you're takin' this one from me (No, no, ain't no way)
Ain't no way you're takin' this one from me (This one from me)
Ain't no way you're takin' this one from me
Uh
[Bridge: Fashawn]
No, no, no, no
Hard times, hard times, hard times
Fall in line, yeah, yeah
Best of times, worst of times, fall in line
Hardest times
Uh, uh
Uh, uh, uh-huh, uh-huh
[Chorus: Blu]
Hard times
All the time
Fall in line
This one is all mine
Ain't no way you're takin' this one from me (Ain't no way)
Ain't no way you're takin' this one from me (Ain't no way)
Ain't no way you're takin' this one from me
[Outro]
People just forgot how to have fun
Right