Hard Knocks In The Hood
Twenty minutes by car, two turns off of the Parkway
Passing snooty Glenridge with lavish lawns of green
Daredevil drivers darting dangerously down the road
Brothers and sisters diverse as life in it's glory
A flourishing garden, of weeds betwixt flowers
But them eyes, those dark portals to see through
These are the defeated masses, descendants of slaves
The oppressed, the dysfunctional, the over comers
Grandmothers of sagacious wisdom mingle with stoned crack
heads
Al's store on the corner, he's cheaper than a wooden penny
Freezing temperatures on Sunday morning, he sits shivering
in his jacket
Saving a couple of bucks on the heating oil
Maybe when he dies he'll invest in a luxury casket
Drug dealers are friendly enough but they got a job to do
Congregating outside of Al's they got methods of operation
Entrepreneurs throwing the dice for a slice of paradise
Jail, insanity, death, those are the devil's cards
But we tell them about Jesus with a smile, and hope and pray
We give out second hand, free clothes, to the legions in ripped
rags
We peddle hope, reminding them they are not forgotten
But our miniscule efforts are but a dim reflection
These are those pushed aside, ostracized and abandoned
Demonized for the audacity to dream of equality and escape
I have a mustard seed of faith, I planted it deep
Past the filth on the street, below the scarred concrete
It is a vision, foggy at best, I the interpreter,
misunderstood
Like
Winter like reality is always harsh and bitterly cold, hard
knocks in the hood
