N.E.R.D

Released: August 6, 2001

Songwriter: Pharrell Williams Chad Hugo

Producer: The Neptunes

[Verse 1: Pharrell Williams]
Woke up, I had the same clothes on I had on last night
I must have passed out
And cash is just like the clothes I worn yesterday
We are broke, I gotta get my ass out
I went to see what my friend was talking about
He told me cocaine could get you clout
My momma said he's trouble and school's my route
But I went to high school and got kicked out
So I'm driving this truck down 95
I pray to God I make it home alive
I don't get pulled over by the man
I just want to make it home to hold your hand

[Hook]
Goodbye, beloved one
Do you know what I am?
If you don't see my face no more
I'm a provider, girl, gotta face the streets tonight
Goodbye, beloved one
Do you know what I am?
If you don't see my face no more
I'm a rider, girl, gotta face the streets tonight

[Verse 2]
You say you don't want me to go, but I have to
Please, don't weep, I love you
I refuse to be a bum
Especially coming where I'm from
I'm a provider, girl, and I love you
So it's just like I said before
Heading down 95, dodging Johnny law
I don't need a ticket, though I never got one
If he pulls me over, he gon' feel my shotgun
I think about life, pull down my hat
It's just like this road, I don't know where I'm at
I don't want to be another cocaine story
Will I find my sanity where I find my glory
Come on

[Hook]
Goodbye, beloved one
Do you know what I am?
If you don't see my face no more
I'm a provider, girl, gotta face the streets tonight
Goodbye, beloved one
Do you know what I am?
If you don't see my face no more
I'm a rider, girl, gotta face the streets tonight

[Bridge]
Someday, this will be over
We'll raise a family
I'll get a job, and I'll be a voter
And if I die, it will change you
I'll watch over our family
But only as an angel

So don't tell me you don't know what you see
When you're looking at a motherfucker just like me
I'm a provider, girl
I said, don't tell me you don't know what you see
When you're looking at a motherfucker just like me
I'm a rider, girl

[Hook]
Goodbye, beloved one
Do you know what I am?
If you don't see my face no more
I'm a provider, girl, gotta face the streets tonight
Goodbye, beloved one
Do you know what I am?
If you don't see my face no more
I'm a rider, girl, gotta face the streets tonight

[Outro]
I love you, girl
I'm doing this for us
I don't know any better
What am I supposed to do?
Nothing?
I love you

N.E.R.D. (officially stylized as NER*D, as seen on their covers) is a backronym that stands for No-One Ever Really Dies.

N.E.R.D. is a hip-hop and rock band whose members include Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, also known as The Neptunes, and Shae Haley. The band was formed as a side project by the Neptunes in 1999. Williams and Hugo had known each other since 1985 when they were 12, and they met Shae Haley a few years later in high school. Hugo and Williams signed a deal when they graduated high school in 1992 and eventually, Hailey joined them when N.E.R.D. was formed.

In September 2001 the band released their first album, In Search Of in Europe. They used digital production for the project but when they prepared for the worldwide release a year later they opted to re-record the album with a live funk rock band known as Spymob. Two years later in March of 2004, they released their second album, Fly or Die. Unfortunately, the two albums didn’t have nearly as much success as The Neptunes production work—collectively the two albums barely broke a million copies sold. In 2005 the group supposedly disbanded because of a dispute with Virgin Records, but Pharrell contradicted this claim in an April 2008

more tracks from the album

In Search Of...

From the albums

In Search Of... (2001)
The Best Of (2011)

N.E.R.D popular songs

ProviderN.E.R.D

N.E.R.D

In Search Of...