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  1. Tracks
  2. Common
  3. Testify

SINGLE

Common

Testify

Release date: 2005

Spotify More on Common

About This Track

A woman testifies in court to save her lover from conviction, but the trial reveals a darker truth: she is the architect of the crime he stands accused of. Common narrates this courtroom drama with precise, unfolding detail, moving through her emotional testimony and the prosecutor's dawning realisation that the defendant has taken the fall for his partner's guilt. The song builds its tension through specificity, naming the charges, the jury's gaze, the moment her composure cracks. The beat, built from vocal samples, creates a sparse, tense backdrop for Common's narrative flow. Each verse adds a layer to the woman's desperation and calculation, moving from her initial plea to the final reveal of her culpability. The chorus, a repeated refrain of "before you lock my love away", shifts meaning as the story unfolds, becoming less a cry for justice and more an ironic commentary on loyalty, sacrifice, and the lengths people will go to protect those they claim to love.

"Testify" is a single by Common, released 2005. Full lyrics are available below. Dork has published 1 article about Common.

About the Artist

Common

Common

Lyrics

Testify

Please let me testify

She walked in the court, her knees buckled
Saying for a man to survive he need hustle
Seen and been through struggle her whole life
Made a transition from being his ho to his wife
Stifling, the night upend the ATF bust in
Her daddy was a hustla so she love them
Looked at the jury, how can they judge him, she screamed

Before you lock my love away, before you lock my love away
Before you lock my love away, before you lock my love away
Please let me testify

Fear in her chest, her face in tears
Had her man's back, he was facing years
In her name, though the place was his
They tryna take everything except the kids
But years she been through scuffle and fights
While he trying to hustle that white
Up all night wondering if he's alive
Seeing him tried, she bubbled inside and screamed

Before you lock my love away, before you lock my love away
Before you lock my love away, before you lock my love away
Please let me testify

The judge yelled for order
Court reporter makin her words shorter
His lawyer sat next to him
She could see how the trial was affecting him
It hurt for her eyes to connect with him
Using her lies for protecting him
They arrested him for murder, and gun possession
As they read back her confession, she screamed

Before you lock my love away, before you lock my love away
Before you lock my love away, before you lock my love away
Please let me testify

The court awaited as the foreman got the verdict from the bailiff
Emotional outbursts, tears and smeared makeup
He stated, he was guilty on all charges
She's shaking, looking like she took it the hardest
A spin artist, she brought her face up laughing
That's when the prosecutor realised what happened
All that speaking her mind, testifying and crying
When this bitch did the crime, the queenpin

Before you lock my love away, before you lock my love away
Before you lock my love away, before you lock my love away

Please let me testify
You accuse me of a, you accuse me of a, you accu-
Please let me testify
You accuse me of a, you accuse me of a, you accu-

Please let me testify
You accuse me of a, you accuse me of a, you accu-
Please let me testify
You accuse me of a, you accuse me of a
Pl-pl-

Lyrics provided by LRCLIB

Track details

Testify

2005Single
Listen
Release year
2005

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    Credits

    Production & Engineering

    Writer
    Angelo Bond, Common, General Johnson, Greg Perry, Kanye West
    Producer
    Kanye West
    Assistant Mixing Engineer
    Jared Robbins
    Assistant Recording Engineer
    Ric McRae, Taylor Dow
    Mastering Engineer
    Tom Coyne
    Mixing Engineer
    Manny Marroquin
    Recording Engineer
    Andrew Dawson
    Vocal Samples
    Edna Wright, Honey Cone
    READ MORE ABOUT COMMONREAD MORE ABOUT COMMONREAD MORE ABOUT COMMONREAD MORE ABOUT COMMON
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