Common - G.O.D. (Gaining One's Definition) (feat. Cee-Lo) Lyrics
Common:After bein' 25, you know, just trying to survive in the worldBout to have a little boy or baby girl. Who knows?Anyway, just when you start gettin that little age and experience to youYou start thinkin about stuff...tryin to make the right movesSo bust it out, this is what I was thinkin, check itYo, the education of the Lon-chicka-Lonnie LynnBegan, began with timeBein my bloodline is one with the divineIn time brotha, you will discover the lightSome say that God is Black and the Devil's WhiteWell, the Devil is wrong and God is what's rightI fight, with myself in the ring of doubt and fearThe rain ain't gone, but I can still see clearAs a child, given religion with no answer to whyJust told believe in Jesus cuz for me he did dieCuriosity killed the catechismUnderstanding and wisdom became the rhythm that I played toAnd became a slave to master selfA rich man is one with knowledge, happiness and his healthMy mind had dealt with the books of Zen, Tao the lessonsKoran and the Bible, to me they all vitalAnd got truth within 'em, gotta read them boysYou just can't skim 'em, different branches of beliefBut one root that stem 'em, but people of the venom try to trim 'emAnd use religion as an emblemWhen it should be a natural way of lifeWho am I or they to say to whom you pray ain't rightThat's who got you doin right and got you this farWhether you say "in Jesus name" or Hum do AllahLong as you know it's a bein' that's supreme to youYou let that show towards others in the things you doCuz when the trumpets blowin, 24 elders surround the throneOnly 144,000 gon get homeOnly 144,000 gon get homeOnly 144,000 gon get it babyChorus Cee-Lo:I've lived and I've learnedI have taken and I've earnedI have laughed, I've criedI have failed and I have triedSunshine, pouring rainfound joy through all my painI just wanna be happy with being meCee-Lo:Let me voice my concernSo many of my fellow brothers have given themselves a titleThat their actions didn't earnOur ignorance is in the same breath as our innocenceSubconciously, seeking to find an impressionable mind to convinceI've finally come to the realization why Black people in the worse placeCuz it's hard to correct yourself when you don't knowWho you are in the first placeSo I try to find the clue in youBut evidently, White folks know more Black history than we doWhy're we bein' lied to? I ain't know our history was purposely hiddenDamn, somethin' in me wanna know who I amSo I began my search, my journey started in churchIt gave my heartache relief when I started to understand beliefHustlin was like a gift spent my share of time in the streetsTaught me survival from this evil I'm just gonna have to deal withAnd I felt like a fool when I tried to learn it in schoolIt almost seemed like a rehearsal when the onlyScience and math are universalTakin elder advice, read the Bible, the KoranSearched scrolls from the Hebrew IsraelitesHold on, this ain't right, Jesus wasn't WhiteSome leads were granted with insightand it's all in the plan, but it took me some time to overstandHe still created with the imperfection of manSo, with followin' I disagreeBy no means have I forgotten or forgiven what's been done to me butI do know the Devil ain't no White man, the Devil's a spiritual mindThat's color blind, there's evil White folk and evil niggasYou gon surely find there's no positivity without negativityBut one side you gonna have to chooseAny chance to speak I refuse to misuseSo how can you call yourself God when you let a worldly possessionbecome an obsession and the way you write your rhymes andCan't follow your lessonIf a seed's sown, you make sure it's known, you make sure it's grownIf you God, then save your own, don't mentally enslave your ownIf you God, then save your own, don't mentally enslave your ownIf you God, then save your own, don't mentally enslave your ownWell, I've lived and I've learnedI've taken and I've earnedI have laughed, I have criedI failed and I have triedSunshine, pourin rainI found joy through my painJust wanna be happy...bein meBein me
