[Chorus over Intro Speaking]

You know what I'm saying, you got these wack emcees out here, you

know what I'm saying, they do three days in the county, you know what

I'm saying, and come home and write a rhyme about doin' bids, you know

what I'm saying, shankin', shankin' people, doin' time, they don't know

nothing 'bout time. Man, I got people locked down, you know what I'm saying

[One Man Army]

Yo its handcuffed, in the back of the bus, forty of us

The road it was rough, plus nobody I could trust (trust)

Headed upstate, no chance for escape

Barbed wire and guards and the gun tower secured the gate

My uncle's fate, was life without parole

Thank God I was blessed with an out date

I can't wait, but I got to

You probably wouldn't have did what I did to catch a bid, but I'm not you

I got a crew still on the street, they don't write me letters

No time to visit a brotha, or bother to send me cheddar

Never did I sweat it, I know they got a life to live

My man J, had a wife and kids

And these are the consequences, my actions committed

Some cats that I used to visit, now I live with

Along with swillas, killas, drug dealas, some rich brothas

Crackheads, con artists, child molesters, d___ suckers

All types of individuals

Sorta like a melting pot for criminals.

The system is designed to stock the plentiful

This old cat from the hood

Told me, "Out of every bad situation comes some good"

Its understood

Prison ain't good for my health

Lookin' in the mirror, introducing me to myself

I studied my thoughts, my ways, the routes I took

Yo, I read daily, it ain't all about the books

Its all about the lessons you learn, through your experience

Applying it in a positive way, period

All praise due to Allah, I used to Skeme

'Til he showed me the straight way, (Arabic ???)

Now I'm on the V-I, telling Moms about Islam

She called me a blasphemous fool, I stayed calm

The world wasn't ready for the changes I made

They were waitin' for the n____ I was in twelfth grade

Everyday, the same old thing, I walked the yard

Set up in the chow hall, with Abdul Rahim

Cats waitin' in infirmary lines, for they medicines

Boorish Americans, walk around, with circum sevens (?)

And older heads playin' horseshoes, sometimes chess

Trippin' when I first seen a f__got with b______

In the shower with a cap, gettin' hit from the back

White dudes, on basketball courts, kickin' hacky-sacks

Broad games, card games--face it

Everybody, time on they hands--most of it wasted

Anything to make the time fly, soon as possible

Some cats used to sleep all day, that's unacceptable

Heads getting cracked over unpaid debts

Either a shank or a lock on the side would do the trick

Correction officers, devil's advocate

And when its time to go home, parole boards wasn't havin' it

Life was hell every day, the devil's tryin' me

But I paid my debt, to society

And after twenty-seven months, of my life, I'll tell you one thing

I know why the caged bird sings

Yo, yo, yo, yo

In jail, without the bail (repeat)

[Chorus over Outro]

You know what I'm sayin', this goes out to all the caged birds

Everybody who know why the caged bird sings, you know what I'm sayin'

I know why the caged bird sings {*2X*}

In jail, in jail, in jail

I sang the same song

When I was upstate, I couldn't flap wings

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