My grandmother's suits was tailor made
Sundays Mahalia played
Simple familiar ways
Like how she kneeled and prayed
Wailin', master, forgive us
Our trust, pastors had us real afraid
I never listened, yet I still obeyed
I got to see how Philly played at such an early age
What my father was into sent him to his early grave
Then moms started chasin' that base, like Willie Mays
My childhood was all of forty nights and forty days
Trouble was my ball and chain, shorties would call me names
Humble beginnings
But a star is what it all became
My journey from a dirty hallway
To the Hall of Fame
Music, my therapeutic way to cope with all this pain
Was headed for the drain
Soakin' before the rainwater came
And chaos, until the order came
I started doin' what I'm 'sposed to do in life
Tryin' to move out of the dark
And closer to the light
They say if you get a chance to do it over, do it right
Tomorrow isn't promised every time you say goodnight
Know what I'm talkin' 'bout? Uh, yo (yeah, yeah)
Story of a little ghetto boy, check it out

Little ghetto boy, oh
Playin' in the ghetto street, ayy
What you gonna do when you grow up
And have to face responsibility?
Yeah, yeah

Will you spend your days and nights in a pool room?
Will you sell caps of madness to the neighborhood
Little ghetto boy
You already know how rough life could be
'Cause you see so much pain and misery
Yeah, yeah

Little ghetto boy, yeah
Your daddy was blown away
Hey, yeah
He robbed that grocery store, yeah
Do you know that was a sad, sad day?
Ayy, yeah

All your young life you've seen such misery and pain
The world's a cruel place to live in, it ain't gonna change, yeah
You're so young, and you've got so far to go
Don't think you'll reach your goal, young man
Talkin 'bout the ghetto boy
Yeah, yeah, yeah

Yeah, yeah, little ghetto boy
When, when you become a man, yeah
You can make things change
Oh, if you just take a stand, yeah, yeah

You've got to believe in yourself, in all that you do
You've got to fight to make it better, better
And you will see that others will start believin' too
Then my son, things will start to get better
Hey, yeah, yeah

(Everything has got to get better)
Oh (everything has got to get better)
Everything is gonna get better (everything has got to get better)
Yeah, yeah, yeah (everything has got to get better)
Don't you know it's gonna get better (everything has got to get better)
Hey, yeah, yeah (everything has got to get better)
I do believe that everything (everything has got to get better)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah (everything has got to get better)
Whoa (everything has got to get better)
Whoa, yeah, yeah (everything has got to get better)
Whoa (everything has got to get better)
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Little ghetto boy, mmm, yeah

Copyright: BMG Rights Management, Downtown Music Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Writer(s): Earl Ceasar De Rouen, Eddy Howard