What It's Like

We've all seen the man at the liquor store beggin' for your change
The hair on his face is dirty, dreadlocked and full of mange
He asks a man for what he could spare with shame in his eyes
But, "Get a job, you fuckin' slob!" is all he replied
Well, God forbid you ever had to walk a mile in his shoes
'Cause then you really might know what it's like to sing the blues

Yeah, then you really might know what it's like (what it's like, what it's like)
Yeah, then you really might know what it's like (what it's like, what it's like)
Yeah, then you really might know what it's like (what it's like, what it's like)
Yeah, then you really might know what it's like

Mary got pregnant from a kid named Tom, he said he was in love
He said, "Don't worry about a thing, baby doll, I'm the man you've been dreamin' of"
But three months later, he say he won't date her or return her call
And she swear, "Goddamn, if I find that man, cuttin' off his balls!"

And then she heads for the clinic and she gets some static walkin' through the door
They call her a killer and they call her a sinner and they call her a whore
But God forbid you ever had to walk a mile in her shoes
'Cause then you really might know what it's like to have to choose

Well, then you really might know what it's like (what it's like, what it's like)
Then you really might know what it's like (what it's like, what it's like)
Yeah, then you really might know what it's like (what it's like, what it's like)
Then you really might know what it's like

I've seen a rich man beg, I've seen a good man sin, I've seen a tough man cry
I've seen a loser win and a sad man grin, I heard an honest man lie
I've seen the good side of bad and the down side of up and everything between
I licked the silver spoon, drank from the golden cup and smoked the finest green

I stroked the fattest dimes at least a couple of times before I broke their heart
You know where it ends, yo, it usually depends on where you start

(Good mornin') I knew this kid named Max, he used to get fat stacks out on the corner with drugs
He liked to hang out late, he liked to get shitfaced and keep the pace with thugs
Until late one night, there was a big gunfight and Max lost his head
He pulled out his chrome .45, talked some shit and wound up dead

And now his wife and his kids are caught in midst of all of this pain
You know it crumbles that way, at least that's what they say when you play the game
Well, God forbid you ever had to wake up to hear the news
'Cause then you really might know what it's like to have to lose

Yeah, then you really might know what it's like (what it's like, what it's like)
Yeah, then you really might know what it's like (what it's like, what it's like)
Yeah, then you really might know what it's like (what it's like, what it's like)
To have to lose