I know you've been gone in these streets for like three weeks now
I'm startin' to worry myself, so come on back now
Don't want you dealing with a life like me
Don't want you strung out, don't want to be like me
Only fourteen, and you've been with one child now
Pregnant with no shoes is where you'll end up now
Your fourteen, you've got your whole life ahead of you
What's that twenty year-old man got to do with you?

I wish, I made a better life for you
I wish, there was someone you could look up to
I wish, you did what I say, not what I do
I wish, you'd see the future, but I know you

I know, that you want to be in these streets
I know, you think you gotta hustle to eat
I know, money doesn't matter to me
I just want you home
I know, that you've got to do what you do
I know, what's that life really doin' to you
I know, that's no way to live your life
I need you to survive

Little shorty, and you want to be a baller now
Want to ride on twenty-fours like a big tymer now
The respect of your crew that's around you
On your way to getting kicked out your high school
Thinking drugs will get you where you need to be
You might get there, but only temporarily
Before you get there, you might be under about six feet deep
Or behind bars at least five-fifty feet

I wish, your daddy was here to help raise you
I wish, you could see that life ain't gonna save you
I wish, you could meet God and He could change you
I wish, get in your head and rearrange you
I wish, there was someone you could look up to
I wish, you'd see there's another way to get through
I wish, use your mind and that can't stop you
I wish, see the future but I know you

God has got to hear me (hear me when I pray)
It's heavy on my shoulders (make it go away)
Carrying my babies
Praying for my brothers
Caring for my sisters, my fathers, my mothers
Hoping that one day you'll see
All you're meant to be
Come to know the things that are true
And live the life that's meant for you