Lyrics Goin' Through It - Brother Ali

Goin' Through It

They say the C word eatin' his body up
He 20 and already runnin' out of luck
They shot him up with a pile of drugs
Ain’t been able to concentrate in about a month
In college with a full sports scholarship
First in the family with that exact accomplishment
Momma spent her young life caught up in the gig
To get up in a crib to raise a child up in
He told me, «Most people never live.»
Said that death is liberating if you just admit
Every second is a gift, our denial is deceiving
They don’t even believe it til the moment that they leavin'
Please, Uncle Ali, don’t you dare cry for me
You don’t know nobody probably as alive as me
My eyes finally open wide enough to see
The sacred vibrations surroundin' me
It ain’t the medication talking, I’m not crazy
I already done started walking, y’all can’t save me
The greatest gift God ever gave me:
All this pourin' out and my home-girl's baby
My people are goin' through it, through it
My family goin' through it, through it
My loved ones goin' through it, through it
I don’t know how they do it, do it
My people are goin' through it, through it
My family goin' through it, through it
My loved ones goin' through it, through it
I don’t see how they do it, do it
She got off all the drugs that did, did
It’s borderline amazing that she lived, lived
Husband and a couple healthy kids
Feel guilty for the ones that never made it through them years
But she said detoxing ain’t the worst case
It’s only so long that the physical hurt stays
Once you get 'em out your system
Now you’re forced to revist all the reasons that you did them in the first place
They don’t leave
You may try to evacuate
So you escape
Go ahead and hit that, you straight
You make your bag 'fore it’s too late
Surprise, guess who’s waiting right there for you when you get back
Years since the last hit of anything
Every now and then, still feel ashamed
And still self-medicating by a different name
Really hope the baby don’t inherit that specific pain
I can’t lie, sometimes I wish I didn’t exist
I think of all the flyness that I would’ve missed
I put that on the love of the kids
I wouldn’t trade one minute of this
My people are goin' through it, through it
My family goin' through it, through it
My loved ones goin' through it, through it
I don’t see how they do it, do it
My people are goin' through it, through it
My family goin' through it, through it
My loved ones goin' through it, through it
I don’t see how they do it, do it
They had an anniversary to celebrate
It’s gonna take a lot more than a dinner date
Forty years in the game, their feelings still the same
Chill and wave goodbye and hit the interstate
How them old school couples do
Bangin' all the music first fell in love to
Think of all the experience they hung through
Somethin' all them years strugglin' can’t undo
He woke up to a close call
Drivin' through the night and he musta dozed off
Swerved to the right, lost control of the car
Hit a patch of ice on the road and rolled off
Last thing he remember is the car rollin'
Everything started happenin' in slow motion
When he woke up, the whole fam' standin' over
Nobody had to say it, it was all on them
He attended the funeral in his wheelchair
He told her, «Ma, I’m still here.»
And if you remain patient through the pain
When it’s through doin' it’s thing, the gratitude remains
There’s very few things sweeter when your love is your wealth
I knew that woman longer than y’all have known yourself
There are no mistakes in beginnings and ends
So long my sweet friend
Until we meet again
My people are goin' through it, through it
My family goin' through it, through it
My loved ones goin' through it, through it
I don’t know how they do it, do it
My people are goin' through it, through it
My family goin' through it, through it
My loved ones goin' through it, through it
I don’t see how they do it, do it