Damn
Look how muh-fuckers use a nigga
Just use me for whatever the fuck they want
I don't get to say shit
Just grab me, just do what the fuck they want
Sell me, throw me away
Niggas just don't give a fuck about a nigga like me, right
Like I'm a f-, I'm a gun, shit
It's like I'm a motherfuckin' gun
I can't believe this shit
Word up (word up)

I seen some cold nights and bloody days
They grab me, bullets spray
They use me wrong, so I sing this song 'til this day
My body is cold steel, for real
I was made to kill, that's why they keep me concealed
Under car seats, they sneak me in clubs
Been in the hands of mad thugs
They feed me when they load me with mad slugs
Seventeen precisely, one in my head
They call me Desert Eagle, semi-auto with lead
I'm seven inches, four pounds, been through so many towns
Ohio to Little Rock to Canarsie, livin' harshly
Beat up and battered
They pull me out, I watch as niggas scattered
Makin' me kill, but what I feel, it never mattered
When I'm empty, I'm quiet
Finding myself fiendin' to be fired
A broken safety, niggas place me in shelves, under beds
So I beg for my next owner to be a thoroughbred
Keepin' me full up with hollow heads

How you like me now? I go blaow
It's that shit that moves crowds, making every ghetto foul
I might've took your first child
Scarred your life, or crippled your style
I gave you power, I made you buck-wild
How you like me now? I go blaow
It's that shit that moves crowds, making every ghetto foul
I might've took your first child
Scarred your life, or crippled your style
I gave you power, I made you buck-wild

Always I'm in some shit
My abdomen is the clip, the barrel is my dick
Uncircumcised, pull my skin back and cock me
I bust off when they unlock me
Results of what happens to niggas shock me
I see niggas bleedin', runnin' from me in fear
Stunningly, tears fall down the eyes of these so-called tough guys
For years I've been used in robberies
Givin' niggas heart to follow me
Placin' peoples in graves, funerals made 'cause I was sprayed
I was laid in a shelf, with a grenade
Met a wrecked-up TEC with numbers on his chest that say
Five-two-oh-nine-three-eight-five and zero
Had a serial defaced, hopin' one day police would place
Where he came from, a name or some sort of person to claim him
Tired of murderin', made him wanna be a plain gun
But yo, I had some other plans
Like the next time the beef is on, I make myself jam right in my owner's hand

How you like me now? I go blaow
It's that shit that moves crowds, making every ghetto foul
I might've took your first child
Scarred your life, or crippled your style
I gave you power, I made you buck-wild
How you like me now? I go blaow
It's that shit that moves crowds, making every ghetto foul
I might've took your first child
Scarred your life, or crippled your style
I gave you power, I made you buck-wild

Yo, weeks went by and I'm surprised
Still stuck in the shelf with all the things that an outlaw hides
Besides me, it's bullets, two vests and then a nine
There's a grenade in a box, and that TEC that kept cryin'
'Cause he ain't been cleaned in a year, he's rusty, it's clear
He's bout to fall to pieces 'cause of his murder career
Yo, I can hear somebody comin' in
Open the shelf, his eyes bubblin'
He said it was on, I felt his palm troubled him
Shakin', somebody stomped him out, his dome was achin'
He placed me on his waist, the moment I've been waitin'
My creation was for Blacks to kill Blacks
It's gats like me that accidentally go off, makin' niggas memories
But this time, it's done intentionally
He walked me outside, saw this cat
Cocked me back, said, "Remember me?"
He pulled the trigger but I held on, it felt wrong
Knowing niggas is waitin' in Hell for him
He squeezed harder, I didn't budge
Sick of the blood, sick of the thugs
Sick of wrath of the next man's grudge
What the other kid did was pull out, no doubt
A newer me in better shape, before he lit out, he lead the chase
My owner fell to the floor, his wig split so fast
I didn't know he was hit, it's over with
Heard mad niggas screamin', niggas runnin', cops is comin'
Now I'm happy, until I felt somebody else grab me
Damn


Lyrics submitted by spliphstar

I Gave You Power Lyrics as written by Christopher E Martin Nasir Jones

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

I Gave You Power song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

7 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +1
    General Comment

    This song goes way beyond the personification of the gun and Nas' ability to make it seem more like a human, that's not very innovative at all. I think the brilliant part of this song is how it's a social commentary by nature. Nas chose to use the gun because it represents something violent and emotionless to reflect the state of mind had by most underprivelaged youths during the period (and today). Nas isn't talking about a gun with feelings, the gun represents the hood as a whole and our current society isn't structured to provide any positives or benefits to people in the ghetto. In actuality, society is designed so that these groups of people fail and that's what Nasir means when he uses the gun metaphor. He condemns prison with the line: "I was laid in a shelf, with a grenade Met a wrecked-up tech with numbers on his chest that say Five-two-oh-nine-three-eight-five and zero Had a serial defaced, hopin one day, police would place where he came from, a name or some sort of person to claim him Tired of murderin, made him wanna be a plain gun"

    The shelf is prison and the wrecked up tec and grenade are felons (the ghetto dwellers all take on a dangerous object when being personified) and the serial number on the tecs chest is his prison number. Prison is a place where we send people that society doesn't want to deal with, not for rehabiliation but for punishment. The tec hopes someday "someone will claim him" or he will find some stability or structure in the world. Nas declares that he's tired of murderin' and wants to be a plain gun, echoing the fact that the plight of the ghetto that produces so many fuck ups is not directly related to the individuals, it's the society they're placed in that causes them to murder, rob, steal, etc. This song is incredibly deep and I could honestly analyze every single lyric but I ain't got that kinda time (although I'd love to). This is probably my favorite song of all time, not just rap song, but song in general.

    GhostfacePrzybillaon January 02, 2007   Link

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

Album art
Standing On The Edge Of Summer
Thursday
In regards to the meaning of this song: Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.” That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
Album art
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him. There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
Album art
Son Şansın - Şarkı Sözleri
Hayalperest
This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere. In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
Album art
No Surprises
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Album art
Magical
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.