To Be A Man

I can't hide myself, I don't expect you to understand
I just hope I can explain what it's like to be a man
It's a lonely road, and they don't care 'bout what you know
It's not 'bout how you feel, but what you provide inside that home

Yeah, I know this life can really beat you down, uh
You wanna scream, but you won't make a sound, uh
Got so much weight that you've been holdin'
But won't show any emotion, as a man, that goes unspoken

That we can't cry when life gets hard
Unconditional love for women, children, and dogs
We know that we just have to play our parts
And don't nobody give a damn about our broken hearts, yeah

As a man, we gotta pave our way
Our only function is to work and slave
There's no respect for you if you ain't paid
You're disregarded as a human and you can't complain

And if you ever make it up and actually reach that place
And find a woman that you love and give her your last name
You'll feel the things that you provide is only why she stays
And when you try to explain, you'll say

I can't hide myself, I don't expect you to understand
I just hope I can explain what it's like to be a man (what it's like to be a man)
It's a lonely road (it's a lonely road)
And they don't care 'bout what you know (care 'bout what you know)
It's not 'bout how you feel, but what you provide inside that home

Don't give up, keep fightin', as a man, our son is our horizon
And our fathers' actions play a role, and we end up like him
So they can't let us see them hurt
'Cause they'll embody what we do and start a generational curse

No wonder most men are so depressed, all the things that they can't express
They go to war, get thrown on the shelf, then go back to war with they mental health
Then grab that bottle and ask for help, try to pull themselves outta hell
Then fall back down and then realize that they gon' have to do it themselves

It's the circle of life, as a man, you provide
They don't know what you're worth 'til the day that you die
And that's when they start cryin'
Then move on to a man to confide in, that's why we feel

We can't hide ourselves, we don't expect you to understand
We just hope we can explain what it's like to be a man (what it's like to be a man)
It's a lonely road (it's a lonely road)
And you don't care 'bout what we know (care 'bout what we know)
It's not 'bout how we feel, but what we provide inside that home (inside that home) that home
It's not 'bout how we feel, but what we provide inside that home (inside that home)