Through My Eyes

Step into my shoes, maybe then
Maybe then, oh then you'll know
See it through my eyes, maybe then
Maybe then you'll, then you'll know
Step into my shoes, maybe then
Maybe then, oh then you'll know
See it through my eyes

She just started third grade, it seems she got it made
She go to private school, Brittany is her name
Her daddy is a lawyer, so he got her living good
Momma is a nurse, so they got up out the hood
Don't want her to live a life like the lives they lived
Facing racism and oppression since they were kids
Great-grandma was a slave, but her momma worked hard
And now the times have changed, so they think there's no scars
But reality is, Brittany still black
So the sad truth is, she'll always be attacked
And the sad truth is, there's a target on her back
And there's no amount of money, that could ever change that
No matter how she speaks, no matter how she acts
It seems that our society will never seem to grasp
An understanding of the damage of our past and present actions
Socioeconomic status, doesn't seem to change her blackness

Step into my shoes, maybe then
Maybe then, oh then you'll know
See it through my eyes, maybe then
Maybe then you'll, then you'll know
Step into my shoes, maybe then
Maybe then, oh then you'll know
See it through my eyes

Now DeAndre shoots ball on the other side of town
So he heading to the court, yeah he out walking around
When he see them lights flash, and the cops pull to the side
He ain't done nothing wrong, he just a kid playing outside
But he grew up in the hood, so he hears them horror stories
Five years ago his dad was killed by the police
He doesn't understand it, 'cause he's still just a kid
Barely 12 years old, young and innocent
But based on what he's heard, them cops are savages
They lack compassion, and they after any brown or black skin
So when he sees them lights flash, instinct says run
They catch 'em and the beat 'em, show no mercy from they guns
They point it to his chest, tell 'em, "Get down on the ground"
He trembles out of fear, blood dripping from his mouth
They find out that he's innocent, they ask 'em, "Why'd you flee"
DeAndre looks back and says, "If only you could see"

Step into my shoes, maybe then
Maybe then, oh then you'll know
See it through my eyes, maybe then
Maybe then you'll, then you'll know
Step into my shoes, maybe then
Maybe then, oh then you'll know
See it through my eyes

Real talk, we ain't walked up in they shoes
Real talk, we don't know what they been through
Real talk, we don't know what they be facing
I'm just tryna' understand it from the skin of a Caucasian
So let's talk about culture, let's embrace it
Let's admit the past, we can't erase it
But if we can stop pretending that there's no such thing as racists
And if we can learn to love, then just maybe we could change it

Step into my shoes, maybe then
Maybe then, oh then you'll know
See it through my eyes, maybe then
Maybe then you'll, then you'll know
Step into my shoes, maybe then
Maybe then, oh then you'll know
See it through my eyes