Born and bred in the dungeon
Ain't it something?
I've been fed in abundance
Pain and suff'rin'
Just when you thought that you were getting on out
On my knees begging, hoping you light this fire
The fifth borough, late night on the corner
Mob ties, everybody's gotta line of order
Wu-Tang shout when the party jump off
Staten Island struggle on the bridge, bodies jump off
It's a whole new world
Everybody see the pain, little boy, little girl
Sunday dinner, old school thinker
Everybody know the code when the feds linger
It's the land of broken dreams
Where the hopeless hide and the strong survive
I've been waiting all too long
Seeing mama cry, it's like it's on my life
Born and bred in the dungeon
Ain't it something?
I've been fed in abundance
Pain and suff'rin'
Just when you thought that you were getting on out
On my knees begging, hoping you light this fire
Uh, tell me where you get a better slice
Where you get a piece of the pie that's realer than the apple
The last borough to hold the yuppies off
When you mingle with the people, then you feel the old New York
Jesus Christ, will you save this island?
I stopped counting
How many kids I grew up with are dead forever
Or dads locked up in penitentiaries doing dimes or better
It's the land of broken dreams
Where the hopeless hide and the strong survive
I've been waiting all too long seeing mama cry
It's like it's on my life
Born and bred in the dungeon
Ain't it something?
I've been fed in abundance
Pain and suff'rin'
Just when you thought that you were getting on out
On my knees begging, hoping you light this fire