Released: November 12, 2004
Songwriter: Michael Jay Luis Resto Martika Eminem
Producer: Luis Resto Eminem
[Intro]
Step by step, heart to heart
Left, right, left, we all fall down...
[Chorus]
Step by step, heart to heart
Left, right, left, we all fall down
Step by step, heart to heart
Left, right, left, we all fall down
Like toy soldiers
Bit by bit, torn apart
We never win, but the battle wages on
For toy soldiers
[Verse 1]
I'm supposed to be the soldier who never blows his composure
Even though I hold the weight of the whole world on my shoulders
I ain't never supposed to show it
My crew ain't supposed to know it
Even if it means goin' toe-to-toe with a Benzino
It don't matter, I never drag 'em in battles that I can't handle
'Less I absolutely have to, I'm supposed to set an example
I need to be the leader, my crew looks for me to guide 'em
If some shit ever does pop off, I'm supposed to be beside 'em
That Ja shit, I tried to squash it, it was too late to stop it
There's a certain line you just don't cross, and he crossed it
I heard him say Hailie's name on a song and I just lost it
It was crazy, the shit went way beyond some JAY-Z and Nas shit
And even though the battle was won, I feel like we lost it
I spent so much energy on it, honestly I'm exhausted
And I'm so caught in it that I almost feel I'm the one who caused it
This ain't what I'm in hip-hop for, that's not why I got in it
That was never my object, for someone to get killed
Why would I wanna destroy something I helped build?
That wasn't my intentions, my intentions were good
I went through my whole career without ever mentionin' ****
And that was just outta respect, for not runnin' my mouth
And talkin' about somethin' that I knew nothin' about
Plus Dre told me stay out, this just wasn't my beef
So I did, I just fell back, watched and gritted my teeth
While he's all over TV, down-talkin' the man
Who literally saved my life, like fuck it, I understand
This is business, and this shit just isn't none of my business
But still knowin' the shit could pop off at any minute, 'cause—
[Chorus]
Step by step, heart to heart
Left, right, left, we all fall down
Like toy soldiers
Bit by bit, torn apart
We never win, but the battle wages on
For toy soldiers
[Verse 2]
There used to be a time when you could just say a rhyme and
Wouldn't have to worry about one of your people dyin'
But now it's elevated, 'cause once you put someone's kids in it
The shit gets escalated—it ain't just words no more, is it?
It's a different ballgame, you call names and you ain't just rappin'
We actually tried to stop the 50 and Ja beef from happenin'
Me and Dre had sat with him, kicked it and had a chat with him
And asked him not to start it, he wasn't gonna go after him
Until Ja started yappin' in magazines how he stabbed him
Fuck it, 50, smash him! Mash on him, let him have it
Meanwhile my attention's pulled in another direction
Some receptionist at The Source who answers phones at his desk
Has an erection for me and thinks that I'll be his resurrection
Tries to blow the dust off his mic and make a new record
But now he's fucked the game up
'Cause one of the ways I came up
Was through that publication, the same one that made me famous
Now the owner of it has got a grudge against me for nothin'?
Well, fuck it, that motherfucker could get it too, fuck him then!
But I'm so busy bein' pissed off, I don't stop to think
That we just inherited 50's beef with Murder Inc.
And he's inherited mine, which is fine, ain't like either of us mind
But we still have soldiers that's on the front line
Who's willin' to die for us as soon as we give the orders
Never to extort us, strictly to show they support us
And maybe shout 'em out in a rap or up in a chorus
To show 'em we love 'em back and let 'em know how important
It is to have Runyon Avenue soldiers up in our corners
Their loyalty to us is worth more than any award is
But I ain't tryna have none of my people hurt or murdered
It ain't worth it, I can't think of a perfecter way to word it
Than to just say that I love y'all too much to see the verdict
I'll walk away from it all 'fore I let it go any further
But don't get it twisted, it's not a plea that I'm coppin'
I'm just willin' to be the bigger man, if y'all can quit poppin'
Off at the jaws, well, then I can, 'cause frankly I'm sick of talkin'
I'm not gonna let someone else's coffin rest on my conscience
'Cause—
[Chorus]
Step by step, heart to heart
Left, right, left, we all fall down
Like toy soldiers
Bit by bit, torn apart
We never win, but the battle wages on
For toy soldiers
Step by step, heart to heart
Left, right, left, we all fall down...
[Chorus]
Step by step, heart to heart
Left, right, left, we all fall down
Step by step, heart to heart
Left, right, left, we all fall down
Like toy soldiers
Bit by bit, torn apart
We never win, but the battle wages on
For toy soldiers
[Verse 1]
I'm supposed to be the soldier who never blows his composure
Even though I hold the weight of the whole world on my shoulders
I ain't never supposed to show it
My crew ain't supposed to know it
Even if it means goin' toe-to-toe with a Benzino
It don't matter, I never drag 'em in battles that I can't handle
'Less I absolutely have to, I'm supposed to set an example
I need to be the leader, my crew looks for me to guide 'em
If some shit ever does pop off, I'm supposed to be beside 'em
That Ja shit, I tried to squash it, it was too late to stop it
There's a certain line you just don't cross, and he crossed it
I heard him say Hailie's name on a song and I just lost it
It was crazy, the shit went way beyond some JAY-Z and Nas shit
And even though the battle was won, I feel like we lost it
I spent so much energy on it, honestly I'm exhausted
And I'm so caught in it that I almost feel I'm the one who caused it
This ain't what I'm in hip-hop for, that's not why I got in it
That was never my object, for someone to get killed
Why would I wanna destroy something I helped build?
That wasn't my intentions, my intentions were good
I went through my whole career without ever mentionin' ****
And that was just outta respect, for not runnin' my mouth
And talkin' about somethin' that I knew nothin' about
Plus Dre told me stay out, this just wasn't my beef
So I did, I just fell back, watched and gritted my teeth
While he's all over TV, down-talkin' the man
Who literally saved my life, like fuck it, I understand
This is business, and this shit just isn't none of my business
But still knowin' the shit could pop off at any minute, 'cause—
[Chorus]
Step by step, heart to heart
Left, right, left, we all fall down
Like toy soldiers
Bit by bit, torn apart
We never win, but the battle wages on
For toy soldiers
[Verse 2]
There used to be a time when you could just say a rhyme and
Wouldn't have to worry about one of your people dyin'
But now it's elevated, 'cause once you put someone's kids in it
The shit gets escalated—it ain't just words no more, is it?
It's a different ballgame, you call names and you ain't just rappin'
We actually tried to stop the 50 and Ja beef from happenin'
Me and Dre had sat with him, kicked it and had a chat with him
And asked him not to start it, he wasn't gonna go after him
Until Ja started yappin' in magazines how he stabbed him
Fuck it, 50, smash him! Mash on him, let him have it
Meanwhile my attention's pulled in another direction
Some receptionist at The Source who answers phones at his desk
Has an erection for me and thinks that I'll be his resurrection
Tries to blow the dust off his mic and make a new record
But now he's fucked the game up
'Cause one of the ways I came up
Was through that publication, the same one that made me famous
Now the owner of it has got a grudge against me for nothin'?
Well, fuck it, that motherfucker could get it too, fuck him then!
But I'm so busy bein' pissed off, I don't stop to think
That we just inherited 50's beef with Murder Inc.
And he's inherited mine, which is fine, ain't like either of us mind
But we still have soldiers that's on the front line
Who's willin' to die for us as soon as we give the orders
Never to extort us, strictly to show they support us
And maybe shout 'em out in a rap or up in a chorus
To show 'em we love 'em back and let 'em know how important
It is to have Runyon Avenue soldiers up in our corners
Their loyalty to us is worth more than any award is
But I ain't tryna have none of my people hurt or murdered
It ain't worth it, I can't think of a perfecter way to word it
Than to just say that I love y'all too much to see the verdict
I'll walk away from it all 'fore I let it go any further
But don't get it twisted, it's not a plea that I'm coppin'
I'm just willin' to be the bigger man, if y'all can quit poppin'
Off at the jaws, well, then I can, 'cause frankly I'm sick of talkin'
I'm not gonna let someone else's coffin rest on my conscience
'Cause—
[Chorus]
Step by step, heart to heart
Left, right, left, we all fall down
Like toy soldiers
Bit by bit, torn apart
We never win, but the battle wages on
For toy soldiers
more tracks from the album
Curtain Call: The Hits
- My Name Is
- Just Lose It
- The Way I Am
- When I’m Gone
- Guilty Conscience
- Mockingbird
- Shit On You
- Shake That
- FACK
- Intro (Curtain Call)
- Stan (Live from the 43rd Annual Grammy Awards)
- My Name Is (Curtain Call: The Hits)
- Sing for the Moment
- Cleanin’ Out My Closet
- Renegade
- Role Model
- Lose Yourself
- Dead Wrong
- The Real Slim Shady
- Criminal
- Like Toy Soldiers
- Stan
- Kill You
- Without Me
- Just Don’t Give a Fuck
- The Real Slim Shady - Clean(Ish)
From the albums
- Encore (2004)
- Curtain Call: The Hits (2005)