The Devil You Know (Live)

[Verse 1]

Helicopters over the house again

We got the projects two or three blocks from here

They pull these kids over for Driving-While-African

And the ones that got the warrants always run in fear

I sit here waiting for the coast to clear

Wishing once again I had a gun around here

Turn on the news and what do I hear?

Some kid shot the bank up on Gallatin Road

Ran away from the cops while he was trying to reload

He beat them up to Eastland Street on feet

Now he's probably reloaded and running down my street

I better turn the alarm on and lock myself in

Helicopters over the house again

[Chorus]

Sometimes you rise above it

Sometimes you gonna sneak below

Somewhere in between believing in heaven

And facing the devil you know

[Verse 2]

This poor kid probably never had a chance to give a fuck

He wouldn't know good luck from a debutante

He's got to find a way to be Steve McNair or Young Buck

Or he's just tough luck looking for a prison to haunt

And you can fuck getting any kind of job you want

Unless you really want to work in a fast food restaurant

And who wants to do that? Do you want to do that?

I wouldn't trade that for my crooked hat

Or my gang or my gun or my waist full of pagers

For a job deep-frying shit, for richer teen agers

If that's where it's at and no one's gonna help

How you gonna blame a man for helping himself?

There is a war going on the poor can't win

Helicopters over the house again

[Chorus]

Sometimes you rise above it

Sometimes you sneak below

Somewhere in between believing in heaven

And facing the devil you know

[Verse 3]

Black and white cops shining lights in the bushes

I can't see how this kid is gonna get very far

Unless he finds a way to make it back over to Barry Street

And he can't do that unless he steals a car

The way things are, they don't seem right

It's all these white people talking 'bout some hope and light

There ain't no hope in Sam Levy, there's just guns and drugs

We ain't building bridges we're just training thugs

And then I hear this terrifying kick at my back door

In walks this kid, I say "I've seen this kid before"

I see him all the time at that bar on Woodland Street

And now he's bleeding in my kitchen tracking blood off his feet

And he's looking at me like I'll either help him or die

Until he sees in my eyes that I'm on his side

I hand him my keys, I say "You better move fast

"There's a J in the ashtray and plenty of gas"

He throws me his cash, he says "I'll be back for this"

I say "Yeah? Well don't be surprised if there's a little bit of it missing"

His gold teeth glistened with a big old grin

He said "We'll talk about that when I see you again"

He shook my hand, I shook his back

I felt like I was 'bout to have a heart attack

Until he finally drove away I thought "Goddamn"

Helicopters over my house again

[Chorus]

Sometimes you rise above it

Sometimes you sneak below

Somewhere in between believing in heaven

And facing the devil you know