I Tried

She don't wanna be with me no more
Ain't her fault, she just tired of this dumb shit that she don't know
Whether to throw in the towel or if he gon' grow
And if he do, where is he gon' go?
Got a letter from an old friend, I read it and cried
When he told me that his girl just died
Right out of the blue, breast cancer, wasn't nothin' to do
Now I'm sittin' here and thinkin' of you

Tryin' to come to amends, 'cause really I done wanted you in
You the only one I trust as a friend
I know I'm on my last leg limpin' with this bullshit written
But I still gotta bring it to light
Spent half of a lifetime missin' 'cause I would not listen
Confused about my wrong and my rights
They tellin' me that time heals wounds though
This wound gon' need some stitches, I got testimony for niggaz

You doin' what you do but when the shoe gets flipped
Standin' on the other foot got your boots and shit
When you back up and analyze, fix shit and finalize
Before you leave the shit alone just try
Maybe there's somethin' you can do to rectify what's did
And plus you gotta think of the kids
That's kinda just the way life is, you either gotta live or you die
At least that I can say that I tried

'Cause I tried, I tried to do the best I could
Sometimes I guess my best ain't good enough
'Cause when it's over, said shit done
You sittin' by yourself mixed up
But I tried, I tried to do the best I could
Sometimes I guess my best ain't good enough
'Cause when it's over, said shit done
You sittin' by yourself mixed up, but I tried

Faster than a crack head, can pawn yo' shit
Willie D'll put a foot in you bitch
I sold dope, robbed folks, had to make ends meet
Since 5th grade, I been up in these streets, tryin' to get it
Raised by a single mother, two sisters two brothers
I used to think she didn't love us
'Cause she beat us so much plus she came home drunk
But every now and then she'd knock on wood, and say
"I tried to do the best that I could," and I believe her

'Cause she was treated evil out the box
You can't get what you ain't got
My Momma I was young, hittin' licks, started helpin' you out
'Bout the closest that you came to a man of the house
I was talkin' back, walkin' through the do' gettin' smacked
You used to brag to your friends on how, well I rapped
We never really got along but when you took sick
I was at your side 'til you died, I wasn't the best son but I tried

I tried, I tried to do the best I could
Sometimes I guess my best ain't good enough
'Cause when it's over, said shit done
You sittin' by yourself mixed up
But I tried, I tried to do the best I could
Sometimes I guess my best ain't good enough
'Cause when it's over, said shit done
You sittin' by yourself mixed up, and I tried

I've always been crook, never given up
But the past few years has been really rough
Felt like givin' up a couple of times
Take a jump or plant a slug deep, up in my mind
Fuck it, I'm dyin', done wit strugglin' for mine
Sleepin' on fans, knowin' there ain't no use to me lyin'
Change my name for anonymity's sake
But a four feet dwarf that be on television's hard to miss

I get pissed over little shit, little shit drive me crazy
Then I start thinkin' 'bout my babies
I can't go to jail, I can't die
Who better to teach 'em 'bout this cruel world than I?
Their Mommas won't let me see 'em, I still pay my support
'Cause once you give life, life is bigger than yours
Maybe I'm not all you expect me to be
But when it's done and said ultimately, "Daddy tried"

I tried, I tried to do the best I could
Sometimes I guess my best ain't good enough
'Cause when it's over, said shit done
You sittin' by yourself mixed up
But I tried, I tried to do the best I could
Sometimes I guess my best ain't good enough
'Cause when it's over, said shit done
You sittin' by yourself mixed up, but I tried