Retrospect For Life
Common

Yo we gotta start respectin' life more y'all
You look at your brother man you gotta see yourself
Gotta see the God within him
Brothers gettin' changed real quick over nothin'
We losin' too many of ours, gotta recreate y'all, yo check it

Knowin' you the best part of life, do I have the right to take yours
'Cause I created you irresponsibly
Subconsciously knowin' the act I was a part of
The start of somethin', I'm not ready to bring into the world
Had myself believin' I was sterile

I look into mother's stomach, wonder if you are a boy or a girl
Turnin' this woman's womb into a tomb
But she and I agree, a seed we don't need
You would've been much more than a mouth to feed
But someone, I woulda fed this information I read

To someone, my life for you I woulda had to leave
Instead I lead you to death
I'm sorry for takin' your first breath, first step, and first cry
But I wasn't prepared mentally nor financially
Havin' a child shouldn't have to bring out the man in me
Plus I wanted you to be raised within' a family

I don't wanna, go through the drama of havin' a baby's momma
Weekend visits and buyin' J's ain't gon' make me a father
For a while bearing a child is somethin' I never wanted to do
For me to live forever I can only do that through you

Nerve I got to talk about them niggaz with a gun
Must have really thought I was God to take the life of my son
I could have sacrificed goin' out
To think my homies who did it I used to joke about, from now on

I'ma use self control instead of birth control
'Cause 315 dollars ain't worth your soul
315 dollars ain't worth your soul
315 dollars ain't worth it

I, never dreamed you'd leave, in summer
You said you would be here when it rained
(Common)
Yo, why didn't you stay?

Seeing you as a present and a gift in itself
You had our child in you, I probably never feel what you felt
But you dealt with it like the strong black woman you are
Through our trials and tribulations, child's elimination
An integration of thoughts I feel about the situation

Back and forth my feelings was pacin'
Happy deep down but not joyed enough to have it
But even that's a lie in less than two weeks, we was back at it
Is this unprotected love or safe to say it's lust
Bustin', more than the sweat in somebody you trust

Or is it that we don't trust each other enough
And believe, havin' this child'll make us have to stay together
Girl I want you in my life 'cause you have made it better
Thinkin' we all in love 'cause we can spend a day together

We talkin' spendin' the rest of our lives
It's too many black women that can say they mothers
But can't say that they wives
I wouldn't chose any other to mother my understanding
But I want our parenthood to come from planning

It's so much in my life that's undone
We gotta see eye to eye, about family, before we can become one
If you had decided to have it the situation I wouldn't run from
But I'm walkin', findin' myself in my God
So I can, discipline my son with my writin'

Not have a judge tellin' me how and when to raise my seed
Though his death was at our greed, with no one else to blame
I had a book of Afrikan names, case our minds changed
You say your period hasn't came and lately I've been sleepy
So quit smokin' the weed and the beadies and let's have this boy

I, never dreamed you'd leave in summer
You said you would be here when it rained
You said you would be here when it rained
Ohh I, never dreamed you'd leave in summer
Now the situation's made things change

Things change, why, didn't you stay?
Why didn't you stay?
I, never dreamed you'd leave, in summer, in summer
You said you would be here when, it rained
When it rained, it rained

Ohooh I, never dreamed, you'd leave in summer
You said you wouldn't leave
Now the situation's made things change
Things change, why didn't you stay?
Stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay
Mmm, stay, uh-uh, oh, why didn't you stay?


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Lyrics by Common

  Diamonds   Made In Black America   "Between Me, You and Liberation"   1 2 Many   1 2 Many   1 2 Many...   1-9-9-9   1, 2 Many   7 Deadly Sins   8 Minutes To Sunrise   A Bigger Picture Called Free   A Dream   A Film Called   A Film Called (Pimp)   A Penny For My Thoughts   A Song for Assata   ABFF (Freestyle)   Acapella   Act Too.. The Love Of My Life   All Night Long   Angel   Annoucement   Announcement   Announcement (Sped Up)   Announcement [Sped Up]   Another Wasted Nite With...   Any Given Sunday   Aquarius   Aquarius (Clean)   Baby Don't Think About It   Baby I'm Selfish   Baby I'm Selfish   Back Home   Be   Be (Intro)   Be (Intro)   Be (intro) - (with The Last Poets)   Be [Intro]   Believe   Between Me, You & Liberation   Between Me, You & Liberation"(feat. Cee-Lo   Between Me, You & Liberation   Between Me, You and Liberation   Black America Again   Black America Again (Remix)   Black Maybe   Blak Majik   Blows To The Temple   Blue Skies   Blue Sky   Blue Sky (Single)   Book Of Life   Break My Heart   Breaker 1/9   Breaker 1\/9   Can-i-bust?   Car Horn   Celebrate   Changes   Charms Alarm   Chatper 13 (Rich Man Vs. Poor Man)   Chi City   Chi-city   Cloth   Cold Blooded   Coldblooded   Come Close   Come Close [Edited Album Version]   Come Close Remix   Come Close To Me   Come Close"(feat. Mary J. Blige   Common War Produced by No I.D   Communism   Corner   Corners   Crack Music   Diamonds   Don't Come My Way   Dooinit   Drivin' Me Wild   Driving Me Wild   E=MC2   Electric Wire Hustler Flower   Electric Wire Hustler Flower - Featuring Sonny Of ...   Electric Wire Hustler Flower"(feat. Sonny (P.O.D.)   Everywhere   Faithful   Faithful   Faithful   Ferris Wheel   Food For Funk   Food, The - (live)   Forever Begins   Forever Black America Again   Funky for You   G.O.D. (Gaining One's Definition)   Geto Heaven Part Two   Geto Heaven, Pt. 2   Gettin' Down At The Amphitheater   Ghetto Dreams   Ghetto Heaven Part Two   Ghetto Purgatory   Ghetto Show   Gladiator   Go!   Gold   Heat   Heaven Somewhere   Heidi Hoe   High Expectations   Home   Hungry   Hurricane   Hustle Harder   I Am Music   I Got Right Ta - Featuring Pharrell Williams   I Got a Right Ta   I Have A Dream   I Used to Love H. E. R.   I Used To Love H.E.R.   I Used To Love H.E.R. [Instrumental]   I Want You   I've Been Thinking   In My Own World   In My Own World (Check The Method)   Inhale   Inhale   Interlude   Introspective   Invocation   It's Your World   It's Your World (Part 1 & 2)   It's Your World (Part 1 & 2)   It's Your World (part 1&2)   Jesus Walks [Remix]   Jimi Was a Rock Star   Joy And Peace   Just in the Nick of Rhyme   Kingdom   Kingdom (feat. Vince Staples)   Kingdom Remix   Let's Move   Letter To The Free   Like They Used to Say   Love Is   Love Is...   Love Star (feat. Marsha Ambrosius & PJ)   Lovestar   Lovin' I Lost   Made In Black America   Maintaining   Make My Day   Making A Name For Ourselves   Misunderstood   My City   My Way Home   Nag Champa   Nag Champa (Afrodesiac For The World)   Nag Champa (Afrodisiac for the World)   New Wave   New Wave"(feat. Laetitia Sadier   Nirvana Is In The Blunt   No Fear   No Sell Out   Nobody's Smiling   Nuthin' To Do   One Day It'll All Make Sense   One-Nine-Nine-Nine   Orange Pineapple Juice   Out On Bond   Payback Is a Grandmother   Pitchin' Pennies   Play Your Cards Right   Pop's Belief   Pop's Rap   Pop's Rap Iii   Pop's Rap Part 2   Pops Belief   Pops Rap III... All My Children   Punch Drunk Love   Puppy Chow   Pyramids   Raw   Raw (How You Like It)   Real   Real Nigga Quotes   Real People   Red Wine   Remaning Me Of (Sef)   Reminding Me   Reminding Me (Of Sef)   Requiem For A Love   Resurrection   Resurrection '95   Resurrection [DVD]   Resurrection [Instrumental]   Resurrection [Large Professor Remix Instrumental] ...   Retrospect for Life [Album Version]   Rewind That   Sex 4 Suga   Sex 4 Sugar   So Cool   So Far to Go   So Sweet   Soul By The Pound   Soul Power   Southside   Southside [Edited Album Version]   Speak My Piece   Star *69 (ps with Love)   Start The Show   Stay Good   Stay Schemin (Remix)   Stolen Moments Part I   Stolen Moments Pt. 1   Stolen Moments Pt. 2   Stolen Moments Pt. I   Stolen Moments Pt. II   Stolen Moments Pt. III   Strange Fruit   Sum Shit I Wrote   Sun God   Sweet   Take It Ez   Tekzilla   Testify   The 6th Sense   The Believer   The Bitch In Yoo   The Bitch in You   The Corner   The Corner [Last Poet Reprise]   The Corners   The Day Women Took Over   The Dreamer   The Food   The Food (Live)   The Food [Live]   The Food [Live]   The Game   The Hustle   The Hustle (Clean)   The Ladder   The Light   The Light [for U] [remix]   The Myth   The Neighborhood   The Next Chapter   The People   The People [Instrumental]   The People [LP Version]   The People [Radio Edit]   The Questions   The Remedy   The Sixth Sense   Thelonious   Thelonius   They Say   They Say...   Thisisme   Time Travelin'   Time Travelin' (A Tribute to Fela)   Time Traveling   Time Traveling (A Tribute To Fela)   Time Travellin' (reprise)   To Find Mecca Is Within   Tricks Up My Sleeve   Trouble In The Water   Two Scoops of Raisins   U Still Got It (Interlude)   U Still Got It (Interlude) [Enhanced Stereo][Multi...   U, Black Maybe   Unfamiliar   Universal Mind Control   Universal Mind Control (UMC)   Universal Mind Control (UMC) [Instrumental]   Universal Mind Control (UMC) [Instrumental]   Universal Minds Control   War   Watermelon   We Can Do It Now   What A World   Windows   Wmoe   Yelling Away   Young Hearts Run Free

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