Mary J. Blige — Where Ive Been

[Intro] To all the youth in the world That think that nobody understands Well, I understand that [Chorus] It's been hard for me Trying, struggling endlessly For where I've been is no longer where I'm at And where I'm going is not where I'm stopping at It's been hard for me Trying, struggling endlessly For where I've been is no longer where I'm at And where I'm going is not where I'm stopping at [Verse 1] I grew up as a seventies baby Brought up in poverty and sin Making jokes at the crazy lady Never cared how she was feeling within I knew all the words to Michael Jackson's album as a kid And when it came to the biggest pressure No, he wasn't my man At the age of seven years old A strange thing happened to me Before I even saw my life had flashed before me And I've got the marks to show And it became a thing of beauty So I gotta let you know that my life and my life [Chorus] It's been hard for me (It's been) Trying, struggling endlessly For where I've been, that's no longer where I'm at And where I'm going, that's not where I'm stopping at It's been hard for me Trying, struggling endlessly For where I've been, that's no longer where I'm at And where I'm going, that's not where I'm stopping at [Verse 2] Now mama's working hard all day And she said this before she left home "Take care of your little brother Have the place clean when I get home" All this priority, me and Tonya had to learn to be grown But at the time for me it's like grown had seemed so long Woke up and I'm seventeen With nothing going for me Except the fact that I sing You know it hurts so much From all the sights that I've seen From abusing to holding drugs You probably couldn't take some of the things That I lived in my life [Chorus] It's been hard for me (It's been hard) Trying, struggling endlessly (I know, I know) For where I've been, that's no longer where I'm at (I know, I know) And where I'm going, that's not where I'm stopping at (I understand) It's been hard for me (I'm wit' you) Trying, struggling endlessly (I been there) For where I've been, that's no longer where I'm at And where I'm going, that's not where I'm stopping at [Bridge] It's hard and the street's a jungle I'm telling you, I'm telling you Especially with your pretty colors I'm telling you, I'm telling you So stay low and keep it humble I'm telling you, I'm telling you Black women, hold it down, keep your feet on the ground Black men, keep searchin' and you'll be found [Chorus] It's been hard for me Trying, struggling endlessly For where I've been, that's no longer where I'm at And where I'm going, that's not where I'm stopping at [Verse 3: Eve] In this world of continuous bullshit and full clips Seems all we have to pass on is being useless (Huh) Broken homes, babies all alone Parents never there, no food, no clothes to wear Anger everywhere Ain't no values being taught, no productive thoughts (Uh-uh) Jealousy rules the world, take shit at any cost Gotta change our state of life, make it worth living God gave me voices to speak, and that's our way of giving It's so much bigger than the furs and jewels (Come on) What about encouraging the youth to do well? (Huh) What about giving back? What about unifying shit? We all black, get it together Everybody's got their trials and tribulations (Yeah) Learn to change the negative to positive situations (Always) Don't hold the lessons that you've learned (Huh) Pass it on and accept the blessings that you earn (Come on) [Chorus] It's been hard for me Trying, struggling endlessly For where I've been, that's no longer where I'm at And where I'm going, that's not where I'm stopping at It's been hard for me Trying, struggling endlessly For where I've been, that's no longer where I'm at And where I'm going, that's not where I'm stopping at It's been hard for me Trying, struggling endlessly For where I've been, that's no longer where I'm at And where I'm going, that's not where I'm stopping at It's been hard for me Trying, struggling endlessly