Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Can't come around
They gon' wanna bring you down
No one knows just what's inside
Doing dope and doing time
Why they messing with your mind
Black maybe
I heard a white man's yes is a black maybe
I was delivered in this world as a crack baby
Hard for me to pay attention and I act crazy
Gotta get over from the tip, I watch the fat lady
Sing a song, on how we guerillas in warfare
And I'm the kingest kong
They say we dreaming wrong
Them same strips that them older cats lingered on
Now the Walgreens is gone, hope is killed fiends are born
We leanin on a wall that ain't that ain't stable
It's hard to turn on the hood that made you
To leave we afraid to
The same streets that raised you can age you
With other black birds that's caged too
A rage up in Harlem and the southside
Brothers is starving with their mouth wide open
Floating across state got the workout plans so they can move weight
The fate of the black man, woman, and child: maybe
Can't come around
They gon' wanna bring you down
No one knows just what's inside
Doing dope and doing time
Why they messing with your mind
Black maybe
Can't come around
They gon' wanna bring you down
No one knows just what's inside
Doing dope and doing time
Why they messing with your mind
Black maybe
He had game since he used to hoop at Chatham
Neither the ghetto nor defenders could trap him
The stones had his back and they'd pat him
He was living a life they couldn't fathom
Colleges getting at him with all type of scholarships
Even if he went they knew he'd leave college quick
For the pros the one from the hood that was chose
The black rose that grew in the jungle
But humble stud still had rumble in his blood
Women all around giving him trouble love
You know the love when you up they down
Cause you wrap a ball they round
Your win is their crown
Dudes in the circle he known for years
Shared beers and cheers but chose different careers
When paper and fame came they ain't know how to react
Them same studs shot him in the back
Now that's black, maybe
Can't come around
They gon' wanna bring you down
No one knows just what's inside
Doing dope and doing time
Why they messing with your mind
Black maybe
Can't come around
They gon' wanna bring you down
No one knows just what's inside
Doing dope and doing time
Why they messing with your mind
Black maybe
When we talk about black maybe
We talk about situations
Of people of color and because you are that color
You endure obstacles and opposition
And not all the time from, from other nationalities
Sometimes it come from your own kind
Or maybe even your own mind
You get judged, you get laughed at, you get looked at wrong
You get sighted for not being strong
The struggle of just being you
The struggle of just being us, black maybe
Black maybe
Can't come around
They gon' wanna bring you down
No one knows just what's inside
Doing dope and doing time
Why they messing with your mind
Black maybe
They gon' wanna bring you down
No one knows just what's inside
Doing dope and doing time
Why they messing with your mind
Black maybe
I heard a white man's yes is a black maybe
I was delivered in this world as a crack baby
Hard for me to pay attention and I act crazy
Gotta get over from the tip, I watch the fat lady
Sing a song, on how we guerillas in warfare
And I'm the kingest kong
They say we dreaming wrong
Them same strips that them older cats lingered on
Now the Walgreens is gone, hope is killed fiends are born
We leanin on a wall that ain't that ain't stable
It's hard to turn on the hood that made you
To leave we afraid to
The same streets that raised you can age you
With other black birds that's caged too
A rage up in Harlem and the southside
Brothers is starving with their mouth wide open
Floating across state got the workout plans so they can move weight
The fate of the black man, woman, and child: maybe
Can't come around
They gon' wanna bring you down
No one knows just what's inside
Doing dope and doing time
Why they messing with your mind
Black maybe
Can't come around
They gon' wanna bring you down
No one knows just what's inside
Doing dope and doing time
Why they messing with your mind
Black maybe
He had game since he used to hoop at Chatham
Neither the ghetto nor defenders could trap him
The stones had his back and they'd pat him
He was living a life they couldn't fathom
Colleges getting at him with all type of scholarships
Even if he went they knew he'd leave college quick
For the pros the one from the hood that was chose
The black rose that grew in the jungle
But humble stud still had rumble in his blood
Women all around giving him trouble love
You know the love when you up they down
Cause you wrap a ball they round
Your win is their crown
Dudes in the circle he known for years
Shared beers and cheers but chose different careers
When paper and fame came they ain't know how to react
Them same studs shot him in the back
Now that's black, maybe
Can't come around
They gon' wanna bring you down
No one knows just what's inside
Doing dope and doing time
Why they messing with your mind
Black maybe
Can't come around
They gon' wanna bring you down
No one knows just what's inside
Doing dope and doing time
Why they messing with your mind
Black maybe
When we talk about black maybe
We talk about situations
Of people of color and because you are that color
You endure obstacles and opposition
And not all the time from, from other nationalities
Sometimes it come from your own kind
Or maybe even your own mind
You get judged, you get laughed at, you get looked at wrong
You get sighted for not being strong
The struggle of just being you
The struggle of just being us, black maybe
Black maybe
Can't come around
They gon' wanna bring you down
No one knows just what's inside
Doing dope and doing time
Why they messing with your mind
Black maybe
Lyrics submitted by acidmaniac
U, Black Maybe Lyrics as written by Kanye West Lonnie Rashid Lynn
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Little Feat
Holiday
Bee Gees
Bee Gees
@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday".
I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
great song- on repeat on my pod...as as interpretation- common pretty much spells it out. too bad it's too controversial to hit mainstream radios