Cheesy Rat Blues

(album: Mama Said Knock You Out - 1990)

Nothing can save ya
Nothing can save ya
Nothing can save ya
Just throw your hands in the air
And wave 'em like you just don't care
Keep 'em there, yo, run the jewels, run the jewels, run the jewels
Can you feel it?

I used to be rolling like a millionaire
Cash in a flash, bankroll to spare
Homeboys hanging, champagne and girls
Give my main woman diamonds, my mistress pearls
Everybody laughing at my corny jokes
I was stupid, I thought that they were sincere folks
It turned out they liked the money and the fame
If I ain't get paid, I'd be that nobody James
The nobody, who dreamed about being somebody
Chief rocker at the party
And they was hanging like, "Yo, I'm your man
I don't even care about the ring on your hand"
We'd go out to eat and chill
But they would go to the bathroom when it was time to pay the bill
I didn't notice all the chuckles and laughter
Too busy with a female telling me I'm the master
I was slick like, "Huh, do I know you?
I got play, here, let me show ya"
Used to have a girl that was on the ball
When the cash flow got low, so did her calls
Used to have a homeboy, always chilling
My cash went low, he told me I was illing
And don't call 'cause he don't hang with derelicts
Broke with no cash, yo, I was in the mix
Everybody stepped 'cause my pockets wasn't fat
My girl got a new man, I fixed his flat
I'm the one that they're laughing at
They say, "Cheesy rat, you ain't all that"

Can you feel it?
Can you feel it?
Can you feel it? (I'm starving, you know what I'm sayin'?)
Can you feel it? Nothing can save ya

I mean crabbing
Played out by backstabbing, I feel like tying
A anchor to my ankle and jumping right dead in the ocean
'Cause I'm ashy and I can't afford lotion
So-called friends in the jewelry store
Told me, "Todd, come back when you get off tour"
Souped as hell, I really regret it
Now the only thing I got in my pocket is bad credit
How can a man like me
Be walking around in a world of misery?
And if women like a man with a body, it's not mine
'Cause they be walking past me like I'm a stop sign
My homeboys laugh when they pass the forty
Saying, "Todd, it seems you used to have a sporty
The Benz was slamming, the Jeep was pumpin'"
Ain't that somethin'?
I just laugh and say, "So what? I was rich"
But when I walk away, it's like ain't this a
Kick in the rear that I'm standing here
And can't afford a tissue for my tear
Should I drink wine and brandy
Or get a job putting stripes on candy?
Or put a hole in donuts?
'Cause when you're broke, your middle name is "So What?"
I had to learn in an incredibly fast way
When you ain't got no money they treat you like a ashtray
I pawned all my jewelry and clothes
Right after that, I got dissed by all my hoes
That I thought was mine, but really never was
Soon the whole neighborhood got the buzz
That my tank was on "E" and that means "empty"
That Twinkie looks good, so mister, don't tempt me
Everybody thought I was tripping
I rode the back of the bus, but my grip kept on slipping
I'm the man that they're laughing at
They say, "Cheesy rat, you ain't all that"

Can you feel it?
Can you feel it?
Can you feel it?
Can you feel it? Nothing can save ya

I wanna hang with my man like, "Let's do this"
But this man like "Who this?"
That's right, the brother got two faces
They got me putting the tips on shoelaces
P on the Puma, a mop and a bucket
My motto is, "I don't care"
I don't give a damn, so what, why try?
I might as well rob some Blake Carrington sucker for his money
It's so funny
Cars ride by with the booming system
Sayin, "Leave him alone, my man already dissed him"
Now I'm on the cheese line, poverty-stricken
As the red tape thickens
I go to the park, they wanna baseball bat me
I go to the mall, they throw my old tapes at me
I'm so horny
And every girl I know be like, "He's so corny"
I want money in a hurry
I'm getting tired of leftover curry
I wanna fall off, but I don't know where the edge is
I'm so hungry, I eat my neighbor's hedges
Now I realize I gotta go for mine
It's windshield time
I take quarters, pennies, dimes and nickels
And a kiddy's tricycle
I'm a desperado
"I'ma steal your rims" is my motto
I watch wrestling until I'm dizzy
So if you're cashing your WIC check, know how to get busy
Go to the drive-through, run with a milkshake
Go to the supermarket, pocket a raw steak
I need beer
I'ma catch the Miller truck out there
You know how they throw the newspapers in the morning?
The owner don't want 'em
I'm the man that they're laughing at
They say, "Cheesy rat, you ain't all that."

Can you feel it?
Can you feel it? (I'm starvin')
Can you feel it? (So, yo, one more time, one more time)
Can you feel it? (Party people in the house tonight, check it out) Nothing can save ya

Just throw your hands in the air
And wave 'em like you just don't care
Keep 'em there, run the jewels, run the jewels (Run the jewels)
Run the jewels