… in jail
[Intro: One.Be.Lo]
Y’knowm sayin? You got these wack MCs out here
Y’knowm sayin? They do three days in the county
Y’knowm sayin? And, come home and write a rhyme about doin bids
Y’knowm sayin? Shankin, shankin people, doin time
They don’t know nothin ’bout time man, I got people locked down
Y’knowm sayin?
[One.Be.Lo]
We was handcuffed, in the back of a bus, forty of us
The road it was rough, plus nobody I could trust (trust)
Headed upstate, no chance for escape
Barbed wire and guards in the gun tower secured the gate
My uncle’s fate, was life without parole
Thank God (thank God) I was blessed with an outdate, I can’t wait
But I got to, you probably wouldn’t have did what I did
to catch a bid, but I’m not you
I got a crew still on the street, they don’t write me letters
No time to visit a brotha, or bother to send me cheddar
Never did I sweat it, I know they got a life to live
My man J, had a wife and kid
And these are the consequences, my actions committed
Some cats that I used to visit, now I live with
Along with swillas, killers, drug dealers, some rich brothas
Crackheads, con artists, child molesters, dick suckers
All types of individuals, sorta like a melting pot for criminals
The system is designed to stock it plentiful
This old cat from the hood
told me, «Out of every bad situation comes some good»
It’s understood, prison ain’t good for my health
Lookin in the mirror, introducin me to myself
I studied my thoughts, my ways, the routes I took
Though I read daily, it ain’t all about the books
It’s all about the lessons you learn, through your experience
Applyin it in a positive way, period
All praise due to Allah, I used to scheme
’til he showed me the straight way — sirat al mustaqeem
Now I’m on the V-I, tellin Moms about Islam
She called me a blasphemous fool, I stayed calm
The world wasn’t ready for the changes I made
They was waitin for the nigga I was in twelfth grade
Everyday, the same old thing, I walked the yard
Sit up in the chow hall, with Abdul Rahim
Cats waitin in infirmary lines, for they medicines
Boorish Americans, walk around with circle sevens
And older heads playin horseshoes, sometimes chess
Trippin when I first seen a faggot with breasts
In the shower with a cat, gettin hit from the back
White dudes, on basketball courts kickin hacky-sacks
Ball games, card games, face it
Everybody, time on they hands, most of it wasted
Anything to make the time fly soon as possible
Some cats used to sleep all day, that’s unacceptable
Heads getting cracked over unpaid debts
Either a shank or a lock on the side would do the trick
Correction officers, devil’s advocate
And when its time to go home, parole boards wasn’t havin it
Life was hell everyday the devil’s tryin me
But, I paid my debt to society
And after twenty-seven months, of my life
I’ll tell you one thing, I know why the caged bird sings
In jail, without the bail [repeat throughout Outro]
[Outro: One.Be.Lo]
Yo, yo, yo, yo, yeah, y’knowm sayin?
This goes out to all the caged birds out there, y’knowm sayin?
Everybody who know why the caged bird sings, y’knowm sayin?
I know why the caged bird sings..
I know why the caged bird sings, I know why the caged bird sings
In jail, in jail, in jail, in jail, I sung the same song
When I was upstate, I couldn’t flap wings
