Released: November 15, 2011
Songwriter: Ludwig Göransson Childish Gambino
Producer: Ludwig Göransson Childish Gambino
[Verse 1]
I used to dream every night, now I never dream at all
I'm hopin' that it's cause I'm livin' everything I want
I used to wake up in a bed between my mom and aunt
Playing with this Land Before Time toy from Pizza Hut
My dad works nights, putting on a stone face
He's saving up so we can get our own place
In the projects, man that sounds fancy to me
They called me "fat nose," my mom say, "You handsome to me"
Mrs. Glover ma'am, your son is so advanced
But he's acting up in class and keeps peeing in his pants
And I just wanna fit in, but nobody was helping me out
They talking hood shit and I ain't know what that was about
Cause hood shit and black shit is super different
So I'm talking hood shit and cool it now like New Edition
Mom and dad wouldn't listen
They left the Bronx so I wouldn't be that
All their friends in NY deal crack
It's weird, you think that they'd be proud of 'em
But when you leave the hood
They think that you look down on 'em
The truth is we still struggle on a different plane
7 dollars an hour, WIC vouchers, it's all the same
Facebook messaging hopin' that could patch up shit
But all they get now is, "Can your son read this script?"
[Hook]
There's a world we can visit if we go outside
Outside, outside—we can follow the road
There's a world we can visit if we go outside
Outside, outside—no one knows
There's a world we can visit if we go outside
Outside, outside—we can follow the road
There's a world we can visit if we go outside
Outside, outside—no one knows
[Verse 2]
Yeah, Dad lost his job, mama worked at Mrs. Winner's
Gun pulled in her face, she still made dinner
“Donald watch the meter so they don’t turn the lights off"
Workin' two jobs so I can get into that white school
And I hate it there
They all make fun of my clothes and wanna touch my hair
And my uncle on that stuff that got my grandma shook
Drug dealers roughed him up and stole his address book
He’s supposed to pay ‘em back
He owe 'em money but his bank account is zero
So my momma made us sleep with Phillips heads
Under the pillow, like that would do somethin'
But she’s got six kids, she’s gotta do somethin'
She don’t want me in a lifestyle like my cousin
And he mad cause his father ain’t around
He lookin’ at me now, like
"Why you so fuckin lucky? I had a father too
But he ain’t around so I'mma take it out on you"
We used to say "I love you," now we only think that shit
It feels weird that you’re the person I took sink baths with
Street took you over, I want my cousin back
The world sayin' what you are
Because you’re young and black, don’t believe ‘em
You’re still that kid who kept the older boys
From teasin', for some reason
[Hook]
There's a world we can visit if we go outside
Outside, outside—we can follow the road
There's a world we can visit if we go outside
Outside, outside—no one knows
There's a world we can visit if we go outside
Outside, outside—we can follow the road
There's a world we can visit if we go outside
Outside, outside—no one knows
[Outro]
Can you hear me now?
Can you hear me now?
Oh, help us Lord
Oh, I'm screamin' baby, baby
I used to dream every night, now I never dream at all
I'm hopin' that it's cause I'm livin' everything I want
I used to wake up in a bed between my mom and aunt
Playing with this Land Before Time toy from Pizza Hut
My dad works nights, putting on a stone face
He's saving up so we can get our own place
In the projects, man that sounds fancy to me
They called me "fat nose," my mom say, "You handsome to me"
Mrs. Glover ma'am, your son is so advanced
But he's acting up in class and keeps peeing in his pants
And I just wanna fit in, but nobody was helping me out
They talking hood shit and I ain't know what that was about
Cause hood shit and black shit is super different
So I'm talking hood shit and cool it now like New Edition
Mom and dad wouldn't listen
They left the Bronx so I wouldn't be that
All their friends in NY deal crack
It's weird, you think that they'd be proud of 'em
But when you leave the hood
They think that you look down on 'em
The truth is we still struggle on a different plane
7 dollars an hour, WIC vouchers, it's all the same
Facebook messaging hopin' that could patch up shit
But all they get now is, "Can your son read this script?"
[Hook]
There's a world we can visit if we go outside
Outside, outside—we can follow the road
There's a world we can visit if we go outside
Outside, outside—no one knows
There's a world we can visit if we go outside
Outside, outside—we can follow the road
There's a world we can visit if we go outside
Outside, outside—no one knows
[Verse 2]
Yeah, Dad lost his job, mama worked at Mrs. Winner's
Gun pulled in her face, she still made dinner
“Donald watch the meter so they don’t turn the lights off"
Workin' two jobs so I can get into that white school
And I hate it there
They all make fun of my clothes and wanna touch my hair
And my uncle on that stuff that got my grandma shook
Drug dealers roughed him up and stole his address book
He’s supposed to pay ‘em back
He owe 'em money but his bank account is zero
So my momma made us sleep with Phillips heads
Under the pillow, like that would do somethin'
But she’s got six kids, she’s gotta do somethin'
She don’t want me in a lifestyle like my cousin
And he mad cause his father ain’t around
He lookin’ at me now, like
"Why you so fuckin lucky? I had a father too
But he ain’t around so I'mma take it out on you"
We used to say "I love you," now we only think that shit
It feels weird that you’re the person I took sink baths with
Street took you over, I want my cousin back
The world sayin' what you are
Because you’re young and black, don’t believe ‘em
You’re still that kid who kept the older boys
From teasin', for some reason
[Hook]
There's a world we can visit if we go outside
Outside, outside—we can follow the road
There's a world we can visit if we go outside
Outside, outside—no one knows
There's a world we can visit if we go outside
Outside, outside—we can follow the road
There's a world we can visit if we go outside
Outside, outside—no one knows
[Outro]
Can you hear me now?
Can you hear me now?
Oh, help us Lord
Oh, I'm screamin' baby, baby
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- IV. Sweatpants
- Bonfire
- Heartbeat
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- III. Telegraph Ave. (”Oakland” by Lloyd)
- I. The Worst Guys
- You See Me
- Sober
- Me and Your Mama
- II. Zealots of Stockholm [Free Information]
- I. Crawl
- Feels Like Summer
- II. Worldstar
- III. Life: The Biggest Troll [Andrew Auernheimer]
- That Power
- L.E.S.
- I. Flight of the Navigator
- II. Shadows
- Do Ya Like
- Backpackers
- Because the internet Screenplay - Part 1