Released: October 25, 1994

Songwriter: No I.D. Common

Producer: No I.D.

[Hook]
{Here's a little that must be told
(*beat scratches*)
From beginning to end (*beat scratches*)
Here's a little story that must be told (*beat scratches*)
From beginning to end}

[Verse 1]
I got so much trouble on my mind
So I take time out my day
To pray and I say, now lay me down to sleep
Hopin' that I keep my soul
Peep, I'm gettin' old and this a cold, cold world
And I ain't even got a bomber
Livin' with my momma, it's the same routine
Keep my room clean, I'm lookin' to do some new things
But ain't shit to do
I'm twenty-two, catch
In the prime of my life, I have no time for a wife
I funnel through the tunnel, disgruntled
Tryin' to find me some light
In the rim of darkness, I too sing
I may not be the darkest, brother
But I was always told to act my age, not my color
Not knowin' that my color, was out of the original
So now I sing the new negro spiritual
It goes, 'get up, stand up
Stand up for your rights
Get up, stand up
Don't give up the fight
It's like, how can you understand the pain
When you never had to stand under the rain?
When it rains, it pours
And it's about to come down hard, thank God
I found you

[Hook 2]
{here's a little story that must be told} (*beat scratches*)
{sample: my life, my life, my life, my life}
{Double Trouble: here's a little story that must be told}
{sample: my life, my life}
{Double Trouble: from beginning to end}

[Verse 2]
As I walk down the road of existence
I get resistance from all angles
I tangle for cash
Hopin' it'll last 'til the end of the week
But all I eat is fast food
And you know how junk food goes right through ya
So I return *to* the a-rab, then on the way back
I stop- at the liquor store, grab me a six pack
Knowin' that once I'm done with that I'll be back
To get some more
Once I get started I don't wanna stop (ahh...)
And I can't turn around, brew- I can't turn it down
Ironically I turn it up, my liver I burn it up
It's my life I live it up, the cup I gotta give it up
One day
I'm cruisin' down a one-way street
And I done passed *fun* day- three blocks ago
It itself, life is an obstacle
As I maneuver through the manure I try to be responsible
I want a job but I ain't lookin' (how come?)
I ain't tryin' to degrade myself, bein' nobody's Calvin I'm a couch bum
What makes it bad, I had incentive
But that disintegrated to a state that stagnated
I procrastinated
I can't recall a day without bein' intoxicated, or blowed
I'm dealin' with a full deck, at any day I can fold
What makes it bad, I wasn't dealt that bad a hand
And I had a plan
But things didn't go through
The way they were supposed to
Thank God I found you

[Hook 3/Beat-Break]
(*scratch*) {here's a little story that must be told}
{my life, my life, my life, my life (*scratches*)}
{here's a little story that must be told} (*scratches*)
{my life, my life} { from beginning to end
Here's a li-little, sto-story that must be told} (*scratches*)
{my life, my life, my life, my life} (*scratches*)
{here's a li-little, sto-story that must be told (*scratches*)
{my life, my life, my life, my li-(*distorted*)}

[Verse 3]
It's like a jungle, sometimes
It makes me wonder how I keep from goin' under, I ponder
And try to keep my
Concentration In this idiotic nation
They say become a doctor, but I don't have the patience
Adjacent to that situation
I want an occupation that I'm into
Cause yet have I begin to
Live to my potential, I went to
School for fourteen years and my best teacher was experience, I reminisce
And wish, I could go back in time to eighty-nine
When there was just' 'sunshine'
But now it's like, I'm gettin' older there's so much strain and stress
I don't think I'll ever be happy until I rest in peace
Of mind, and find who I am
But thank God I found you

[Hook 3/Beat-Break]
(*scratches*)
{here's a little story that must be told} (*scratches*)
{my life, my life, my life, my life} (*scratches*)
{here's a little story that must be told (*scratches*)
{my life, my life {from beginning to end}, my life, my life}
{here's a little story that must be told} (*scratches*)
{sample: my life, my life, my life {here's a little, little} my life, my life}
{sto, sto-story that must, must, must, must
(*rewind*) mu-must (*distortion*) must be told
Mu-mu-mu- (*distortion*) mu-mu- (*scratches*) must be told
Mu-mu- (*distortion, scratches*) mu- (*scratches*)
Mu-mu- (*distortion, scratches*) mu- (*scratches*)
Must be told (yeah...)
(*scratches*) must be told
(*scratches*) must be to- (*distortion*)

[Outro]
{trouble, down, the drain... (*echo*)
Trouble...
Trouble, down, the drain... (*echo*)
Trouble...
Trouble, down, the drain...(*echo*)
{*repeat*}

Common

Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr. (born March 13, 1972), better known by his stage name Common (previously Common Sense), is a Grammy and Oscar-winning rapper and actor from Chicago, Illinois. Common’s inspired mix of poetic flow and hip-hop soul has helped him earn his status as one of the most respected rappers in the game.

After being a ball boy for his hometown Chicago Bulls as a teen and attending Florida A&M University for business administration, Common Sense kicked in and he left school to become a rapper. He gained national attention after being featured in the Unsigned Hype column of The Source magazine in 1991. He released his debut album Can I Borrow a Dollar? through Relativity Records in 1992, followed by his breakthrough second album Resurrection in 1994, which features his hip-hop classic single “I Used To Love H.E.R.”

As his career began to take off, he was sued by the music group Common Sense over the name, leading Common to drop the “Sense” and allude to the change in the title of his third album, One Day It’ll All Make Sense (1997). He has released several critically acclaimed albums, including Like Water For Chocolate (2000), which features his J Dilla-produced hit single “The Light”, and Be (2005), which was released under fellow Chicago musician Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Music imprint. He also joined musicians Karriem Riggins and Robert Glasper to form the group August Greene, and the trio released their self-titled album in 2018.