T.I. – Dead and Gone

Ayy, let me kick it to you right quick, man
Not on some gangsta shit, man, on some real shit
Anybody done been through the same thing
I’m sure you feel the same way
Big Phil, this for you, pimpin’

Oh, I’ve been travelin’ on this road too long (Too long)
Just tryin’ to find my way back home (Back home)
The old me is dead and gone, dead and gone
And oh, I’ve been travelin’ on this road too long (Too long)
Just tryin’ to find my way back home (Back home)
The old me is dead and gone, dead and gone, hey

Ever had one of them days wish you woulda stayed home
Run into a group of niggas who gettin’ they hate on?
You walk by, they get wrong
You reply, then shit get blown
Way outta proportion, way past discussion
Just you against them, pick one, then rush him
Figure you get jumped, hell, that’s nothin’
They don’t wanna stop there, now they bustin’
Now you gushin’, ambulance rushin’ you
To the hospital with a bad concussion
Plus you hit four times, bullet hit yo’ spine
Paralyzed waist-down, now you’re wheelchair-bound
Never mind that now, you lucky to be alive
Just think, it all started, you fussin’ with three guys
Now your pride in the way, but your pride is the way
You could fuck around, get shot, die any day
Niggas die everyday, all over bullshit
Dope money, dice game, ordinary hood shit
Could this be ‘cause of hip hop music?
Or did the ones with the good sense not use it?
Usually niggas don’t know what to do when
Their back against the wall, so they just start shootin’
For red or for blue or for blow, I guess
From Bankhead up to yo projects

No more stress, now I’m straight
Now I get it, now I take
Time to think before I make
Mistakes just for my family’s sake
That part of me left yesterday
The heart of me is strong today
No regrets, I’m blessed to say
The old me dead and gone away

Oh, I’ve been travelin’ on this road too long (Too long)
Just tryin’ to find my way back home (Back home)
The old me is dead and gone, dead and gone
And oh, I’ve been travelin’ on this road too long (Too long)
Just tryin’ to find my way back home (Back home)
The old me is dead and gone, dead and gone, hey

I ain’t never been scared, I lived through tragic situation
Coulda been dead lookin’ back at it
Most of that shit didn’t even have to happen
But you don’t think about it when you out there trappin’
In apartments, hangin’, smokin’ and rappin’
Niggas start shit, next thing you know, we cappin’
Get locked up, then didn’t even get mad
Now think about, damn, what a life I had!
Most of that shit, look back, just laugh
Some shit, still look back, get sad
Maybe my homeboy still be around
Had I not hit the nigga in the mouth that time
I won that fight, I lost that war
I can still see my nigga walkin’ out that door
Who’da thought I’d never see Philant no more?
Got enough dead homies, I don’t want no more
Cost a nigga his jaw, cost me more
I’da took that ass-whoopin’ now for sure
Now, think before I risk my life
Take them chances to get my stripes
A nigga put his hands on me, alright
Otherwise, stand there, talk shit all night
‘Cause I hit you, and you sue me
I shoot you, get locked up, who? Me?

No more stress, now I’m straight
Now I get it, now I take
Time to think before I make
Mistakes just for my family’s sake
That part of me left yesterday
The heart of me is strong today
No regrets, I’m blessed to say
The old me dead and gone away

Oh, I’ve been travelin’ on this road too long (Too long)
Just tryin’ to find my way back home (Back home)
The old me is dead and gone, dead and gone
And oh, I’ve been travelin’ on this road too long (Too long)
Just tryin’ to find my way back home (Back home)
The old me is dead and gone, dead and gone, hey

I turn my head to the East
I don’t see nobody by my side
I turn my head to the West
Still nobody in sight
So I turn my head to the North
Swallow that pill that they call pride
The old me is dead and gone
But the new me will be alright
I turn my head to the East
I don’t see nobody by my side
I turn my head to the West
Still nobody in sight
So I turn my head to the North
Swallow that pill that they call pride
The old me is dead and gone
But the new me will be alright ’cause

Oh, I’ve been travelin’ on this road too long (Too long)
Just tryin’ to find my way back home (Back home)
The old me is dead and gone, dead and gone
And oh, I’ve been travelin’ on this road too long (Too long)
Just tryin’ to find my way back home (Back home)
The old me is dead and gone, dead and gone, hey