[Lyric] Get By (Talib Kweli)

[Produced by Kanye West]

[Verse 1]
Yeah
We sell crack to our own out the back of our homes
We smell the musk of the dusk and the crack of the dawn
We go through episodes too/two, like Attack of the Clones
Work 'til we break our back, and you hear the crack of the bones
(Just to get by, just to get by, just to get by, just to get by)
We commute to computers
Spirits stay mute while your egos spread rumors
We survivalists turned to consumers
(Just to get by, just to get by, just to get by, just to get by)
Ask Him why some people gotta live in a trailer, cuss like a sailor
I paint a picture with the pen like Norman Mailer
Mi abuela raised three daughters all by herself with no help
I think about her struggle and I find the strength in myself
These words melt in my mouth, they hot like a jail cell in the South
Before my nigga Cor' bailed me out
(To get by, just to get by, just to get by, just to get by)
We do or die like Bed-Stuy
See the red sky through the window of the red-eye
Let the lead fly — some G. Rap shit, Livin' to Let Die
[Hook]
This morning, I woke up
Feelin' brand new, I jumped up
Feelin' my highs and my lows and my soul
And my goal's just to stop smokin' and stop drinkin'
And I've been thinkin' — I've got my reasons
Just to get by, just to get by
Just to get by, just to get by
By, by-by-by-by, by-by-by-by
By-by-by-by, by-by-by-by
Just to get by, just to get by
Just to get by, just to get by
By, by-by-by-by, by-by-by-by
By-by-by-by, by-by-by-by
Just to get by, just to get by
Just to get by, hey, hey

[Verse 2]
We keep it gangsta
Say "Fo' shizzle", "Fo' sheezy" and stayin' crunk
It's easy to pull a breezy, smoke trees and we stayin' drunk
Yo, our activism attackin' the system
The Blacks and Latins in prison
Numbers have risen, they victims lackin' the vision
Shit, and all they got is rappin' to listen to
I let 'em know we missin' you, the love is unconditional
Even when the condition is critical, when the livin' is miserable
Your position is pivotal — I ain't bullshittin' you!
Now, why would I lie? Just to get by?
Just to get by, we get fly
The TV got us reachin' for stars
Not the ones between Venus and Mars
The ones that be readin' for parts
Some people get breast enhancements and penis enlargers
Saturday sinners — Sunday morning at the feet of the Father
They need somethin' to rely on
We get high on all types of drug, when all you really need is love
(To get by, just to get by, just to get by, just to get by)
Our parents sing like John Lennon — imagine all the people watch
We rock like Paul McCartney, from now until the last Beatle drop
[Hook]
This morning, I woke up
Feelin' brand new, I jumped up
Feelin' my highs and my lows and my soul
And my goal's just to stop smokin' and stop drinkin'
And I've been thinkin' — I've got my reasons
Just to get by, just to get by
Just to get by, just to get by

[Outro]
Yo-yo-yo, yo, yo
Some people cry, and some people try
Just to get by, for a piece of the pie
We love to eat and get high
We deceive and we lie, and we keepin' it fly
Y-y-y-yo, yo
When the people decide to keep a disguise
Can't see they eyes, see the evil inside
But there's people you find
Strong or feeble in mind, I stay readin' the signs
Y-y-y-yo, yo, yo
Some people cry, and some people try
Just to get by, for a piece of the pie
We love to eat and get high
We deceive and we lie, and we keepin' it fly
Y-y-y-yo, yo
When the people decide to keep a disguise
Can't see they eyes, see the evil inside
But there's people you find
Strong or feeble in mind, I stay readin' the signs
Y-y-y-yo, yo
(Someone's feelin' it, that's what's up)