The Cool

[Produced by Kanye West] [Intro] Yeah Yeah "The Cool" Turn me up, uh-huh, yeah [Verse 1] He came back in the same suit that he was buried in Similar to the one his grandfather was married in Yes, he was still fresh-to-death Bling, two earrings, a chain layin' on his chest He still had it 'cause they couldn't find it And the bullets from his enemies sat, like, two inches behind it Smelled the Hennessy from when his niggas got reminded And poured out liquor in his memory; he didn't mind it, but— He couldn't sip it fast enough So, the liquor was just fillin' the casket up Floatin' down by his feet was the letter from his sister Second-grade handwriting simply read, "I miss ya" Suit jacket pocket held his baby daughter's picture Right next to it, one of his mans stuck a Swisher He had a notion as he laid there soakin' He saw that the latch was broken, he kicked his casket open And he... [Chorus] This life goes passing you by It might go fast if you lie You born, you live, then you die Oh-oh-oh-oh If life goes passing you by Don't cry If you're breaking the rules, making your moves (Yeah) Paying your dues (Uh-huh), chasing the cool [Verse 2] Not at all nervous as he dug to the surface Tarnished gold chain is what he loosened up the earth with He used his mouth as a shovel to try and hollow it And when he couldn't dirt-spit, he swallowed it Working like a... hmm... reverse archaeologist Except his buried treasure was sunshine So when some shined through a hole that he had drove It reflected off the gold and almost made son blind He grabbed onto some grass and climbed Pulled hisself up out of his own grave and looked at the time On the watch that had stopped six months after the shots That'd got him in the box; wringing Henny out his socks Figured it was hours because he wasn't older Used some flowers to brush the dirt up off his shoulder So, with a right hand that was all bones And no reason to stay, he decided to walk home So he... [Chorus] This life goes passing you by It might go fast if you lie (Yeah) You born, you live, then you die Oh-oh-oh-oh If life goes passing you by Don't cry (Ugh) If you're breaking the rules (Yeah), making your moves (Ugh) Paying your dues (Ugh), chasing the cool [Verse 3] He begged for some change to get him on the train "Damn, that nigga stank" is what they complained Tried to light the blunt, but it burst into flames Caught the reflection in the window of what he became A long look; wasn't shook, wasn't ashamed Matter-fact, only thing on his brain was brains Yeah, and gettin' back in his lane Doin' his thing—first, he had to find somethin' to sling Next stop was his block; it had the same cops Walked right past the same spot where he was shot Shocked that some lil' niggas tried to sell him rocks It just felt weird, being on the opposite They figured that he wasn't from there, so they pulled out And robbed him with the same gun they shot him with Put it to his head and said, "You're scared, ain't you?" He said, "Hustler for death, no heaven for a gangster" And... [Chorus] This life goes passing you by It might go fast if you lie (Ugh) You born, you live, then you die (Ugh) Oh-oh-oh-oh If life goes passing you by Don't cry If you're breaking the rules, making your moves Paying your dues, chasing the cool [Outro] Yeah Ugh The Cool!