Believe

You're my darling, darling baby
(Just believe)
Someday a change will come, you will see
You're my darling, darling baby
(Just believe)
I know that you'll be free
If you just believe

I see him walking on a sidewalk early morn'
Backpack, old shoes, no jacket on
Head down, eyes fixed on the ground
You can tell he don't really wanna take a look around
Because he's living in a war zone
Just passed that spot
Where his big brother got shot
His mama never tells him: "Come home."
Ever since bro died
All she ever do is snort "Hop"
Everybody thinks he's dead wrong
In the back of the class
Don't nobody really think he can pass
But he's not a quitter
And he's scared of the past
So the future is all that he has
Gotta go and get it
And he don't learn quick
And he's not that smart
But the boy got heart
And that's all that he needs
With his goals and his dreams
You can make it if you just believe

(Just believe)
You're my darling, darling baby
(Just believe)
Someday a change will come, you will see
You're my darling, darling baby
(Just believe)
I know that you'll be free
If you just believe

I see her standing on the Ave in her short dress
15 years old, maybe little less
And her so-called boyfriend is 25
He says if she ever leaves then she gonna die
First time was the worst time
Might as well get paid for it
That's what her boyfriend said
Men form a long line
For a piece of the princess
But her soul ain't dead
Mama got a
Little flame and it flickers in the abstract
that's a true North Star
She gonna make a run for her freedom
All she got to do is backtrack
and be who you are
Freedom's in the heart
And her innocence's gone
And the pain last long
But she will move on
Because all that she needs
Is her goals and her dreams
You can make it if you just believe

(Just believe)
You're my darling, darling baby
(Just believe)
Someday a change will come, you will see
You're my darling, darling baby
(Just believe)
I know that you'll be free
If you just believe

Now the children of the land they can care less
About our ideologies and our politics
Ain't no philosophy ever fed me
A kid starving ain't thinking about chemistry
And we plan so long that we don't do
And we really wanna help
But we don't move
And we get gridlocked
And we just stop
But if you listen
You can still hear the bodies drop
So you wanna save the world?
Well you better save the block first
It's a ticking time bomb
And if you come into my hood
Understanding you got to knock first
Cause respect goes long
Right now is the time
To decide what it is
Can't do it for yourself
Then do it for the kids
Because all that we need
Is our goals and our dreams
We can make it if we just believe

(Just believe)
You're my darling, darling baby
(Just believe)
Someday a change will come, you will see
You're my darling, darling baby
(Just believe)
I know that you'll be free
If you just believe
(Just believe)
I know that you'll be free
If you just believe