Liv-in' in the ghet-to wasn-n't much fun;

Not ma-ny trees, and no-where to run.

I nev-er knew my dad-dy,

And he nev-er knew me.



Liv-in' in a world of knives and guns,

It's hard to know when to trust some-one.

And when your mom-ma's up fly-ing high,

All you can do is pray she does-n't die.



If God had-n't stay-ed and stood by me

On-ly the dev-il would know where I'd be.

My life would be no-thing but a great big mess

If it was-n't for God and if I hadn't been bless-ed.



My life was rough, but I pull-ed through.

I lived a life, you wouldn't want for you,

I said my pray-ers,and made some plans.

I wash-ed dir-ty dish-es, and scrubb-ed some pans.



If God had-n't stay-ed and stood by me,

On-ly the dev-il would know where I'd be.

My life would be no-thing, but a great big mess

If it was-n't for God and if I hadn't been bless-ed.