Now I lay me down to sleep
I pray the Lord my guns to keep
If I die before I wake
I pray the Lord my soul to take
God (?), when thugs cry, too much is hard

[2Pac]
Born thuggin and lovin the way I came up
Big money clutchin, bustin while evadin cocaine busts
My pulse rushin, send my (?) into insanity
Shout at my cousin now we bustin if they yo' family
The coppers wanna see me buried, I ain't worried
I got a line on the D.A. cause I'm fuckin his secretary
I black out and start cussin, bust 'em and touch 'em all
They panic and bitches duckin, I rush 'em and fuck 'em all
I'll probably be an old man before I understand
why I had to live my life with pistols close at hand
Kidnapped my homey's sister, cut her face up bad
They even raped so we blazed they pad
Automatic shots rang out, on every block
They puttin hits out on politicians, even cops, I ain't lyin
They got me sleepin with my infrared beams
And in my dreams I hear motherfuckers screamin
What is the meaning, when thugs cry?

[Chorus: singers]
Oh why, children send your child off to die
In the streets of chalk where they lie
Let no wrongs cry out when thugs cry
Dear God..
Oh why, does it have to be this way, our
children of today won't stay wise
Let the children hear when thugs cry
Dear God.. oh why..

[("When thugs cry") on line 4, first time only]
[("thugs cry") on line 6, first time only]

[2Pac]
Heh.. maybe my addiction to friction got me buggin
Where is the love? Never quit my ambition to thug
Ain't shed a tear since the old school years of elementary
Niggaz I used to love, enclosed in penitentiaries
But still homey keep it real, how does it feel
to lose your life, over somethin that you did as a kid?
You all alone, no communication, block on the phone
Don't get along with yo' pop, and plus your moms is gone
Where did we go wrong? I put my soul in the song
to help us grow at times, but now our minds are gone
We went from brothers and sisters, to niggaz and bitches
We went from welfare livin, to worldwide riches
But somethin changed in this dirty game, everything's strange
Lost all my homies over cocaine.. mayne
See they ask me if I shed a tear, I ain't lie
See you gotta get high or die, cause even thugs cry

[Chorus]

[2Pac]
And all I see is these paranoid bitches, illegal adventures
Bustin motherfuckers with uppercuts, I leave 'em with dentures
Cause in my criminal mind, nobody violates the Don
I write your name on a piece of paper, now your family's gone
Why perpetrate like you can handle my team?
So merciless that my attack'll take command of your dreams
Leavin motherfuckers drownin in they own blood
Clownin takin pictures later
Laugh bout the punk bitches, that turned snitches
Regulate my area, the terror I represent
Makin yo' people disappear, you wonderin where they went?
Am I cold or is it just I sold my soul?
Addicted to these streets, never find true peace I'm told
Come take my body God, don't let me suffer any longer
Smoke a pound of marijuana, so I know it ain't long
Where is the end to all my misery, is there a close?
I suppose that's why I murder my foes, when thugs cry

[Chorus]

[2Pac over Chorus]
I shed tattooed tears for years
for my dead homeboys and my prison peers
Y'all ain't never heard my cries
Now you wonder why would you die?

[Chorus