Lauryn Hill — Social Drugs

These social drugs [x3] (Verse 1) Afraid to address the reality before me To proud to confess that I'm addicted to a lie So I seek temporary feeling To replace reality Though the truth is telling me I have died But I've been taught to numb it Sedated, don't confront it I hate it when I find out That I can't get what I wanted This emotional tantrum Has become sort of an anthem playing every time I need to take a little trip To hide this condemnation I'll find a combination Of man-made stimulation To deny my situation Now this unreality Is distorting what I see Reporting back to me A sense of false security So in my imagination I must find a recreation Desperately in search of ways To alter my sensation There's no equilibrium Inebriated till I'm numb Intoxicated until I'm dumb To avoid confrontation These social drugs Messing with my mind These social drugs Telling me I'm fine (Verse 2) Now this chemical analogy Is our emotional reality These political, traditional And ethnical stimulants And social etiquette Won't let us be too upset With the way things really are You're told to camouflage regret In a religious structure Tells us God wants us to suffer To support a situation we all know is obligation And if you shun the complication They'll just gun your reputation Like mob intimidation To enforce participation See they need to keep us fiends To their lies and broken schemes And if you find another means You're told you're being too extreme And if you wanted to get clean They'll just pull those social strings Holding up their social nose Defying noble things Now we're all stuck in tradition Unable to state opposition Too afraid to contradict The expectations of the system Oh and the harsh reality Is they made grace for you and me Instead of saving you and me They're just enslaving you and me These social drugs These social drugs These social drugs These social drugs Know what I mean Know what I mean These social drugs These social drugs [7x] Know what I mean These social drugs Messing with my mind These Telling me I'm fine These Messing with my head These social drugs Wanting me dead Know what I mean