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People Like Me Lyrics
Heaven, is there a chance that you could come down
and open doors to hurting people like me
People like me
People like me
People like me
Yeah, people like me
Is it fair to say that I am stressing out
I'm stationed in Iraq and they won't let me out
My homies said I was stupid for even joining
My consulate said my decision was disappointing
How she had good ?? for good state colleges
and with my good grades it wouldn't've been a problem
But they don't understand just the power of significance
More than brilliance and certainly more than dividends
And if you ask me now
Would I repeat it
Would I fight in a war I don't believe in?
Well the answer is its not me here the cancer is
They've been doing this before Jesus of Nazareth
And after all this time its still deadly hazardous
And Bush isn't really being all that inaccurate
When he says we winning the war cus its staggering
But thats cus we killin' everybody that we see
And most of us soldiers we can barely fall asleep
And time and time again I'm feeling incompetent
Cus my woman back home we constantly arguin'
And I must be crazy cus all I'm obsessin' with
Is her myspace and facebook and who's commentin'
I swear to God if she's cheating I'm doing her ass in
I can tell with one look
And it came to be something like a song hook
Saying
Heaven, is there a chance that you can come down
And open doors to hurting people like me
People like me
People like me
People like me
Yeah, people like me
Meet Sarah, the proud mother of young Sebastian
Suburban professional, went to college in Ashland
In self pity, she suddenly cried
Would my life be important if I suddenly died?
Neighbours sayin' what a nice woman she was
Keepin' mostly to herself ever since the divorce
And with the company downsizing in the fall, and all
She really shouldn't take it that personal at all
It wasn't her boss who had his eyes on his thighs
And got a rise from her risin' off the desk though
And despite remembering sayin' no plenty of times
It was still a damn surprise being let go
And now stuck with a mortgage she can't afford
And too educated to blame the corporate world
She got on welfare, then hated it
Case worker powertrippin' and generally being degrading
if nothing else she was treated sick, and ineffective
Which is the worse thing, that she'd been left with
Damn
No magic from David Blaine
No pain and her pain was plain
No Morgan Freeman to narrate the shame
So she took refuge in prayer
Kind of like finding God in the phonebook
and it came to her sounding something like a song hook.
Heaven, is there a chance that you could come down
and open doors to hurting people like me
People like me
People like me
People like me
Yeah, people like me
I guess I told you about myself to a degree
Just by telling you about people like me
But people like me, they speak politely
They don't start no beef for a piece of white meat
Everybody gotta eat, but everybody doesn't
Which is why I wanna tell you about my favourite cousin
He and I grew up where the sun shines
And we both partook in the gun crimes
And we both liked American rap rhymes
Even though we didn't understand one line
If you remember my liner notes in my last album
I talked about a close call with a grenade
I think we both must've been seventh grade
But don't panic, we both survived without damage
But we developed a bond like we survived the Titanic
So when the country became frantic
My mother tried to get us out, planned it
to the last detail, except the plan got derailed
cus there wasn't enough money for the plane tickets
How bitter when my mother had to chose who to take with her
So my cousin got left in the war
And that's just hard to record
But now I take refuge in prayer
Kind of like finding God in the phonebook
It came to me sounding something like a song hook
Heaven, is there a chance that you could come down
and open doors to hurting people like me
People like me
People like me
People like me
Yeah, people like me
Heaven, is there a chance that you could come down
and open doors to hurting people like me
People like me
People like me
People like me
Yeah, people like me
and open doors to hurting people like me
People like me
People like me
People like me
Yeah, people like me
I'm stationed in Iraq and they won't let me out
My homies said I was stupid for even joining
My consulate said my decision was disappointing
How she had good ?? for good state colleges
and with my good grades it wouldn't've been a problem
But they don't understand just the power of significance
More than brilliance and certainly more than dividends
And if you ask me now
Would I repeat it
Would I fight in a war I don't believe in?
Well the answer is its not me here the cancer is
They've been doing this before Jesus of Nazareth
And after all this time its still deadly hazardous
And Bush isn't really being all that inaccurate
When he says we winning the war cus its staggering
But thats cus we killin' everybody that we see
And most of us soldiers we can barely fall asleep
And time and time again I'm feeling incompetent
Cus my woman back home we constantly arguin'
And I must be crazy cus all I'm obsessin' with
Is her myspace and facebook and who's commentin'
I swear to God if she's cheating I'm doing her ass in
I can tell with one look
And it came to be something like a song hook
Saying
And open doors to hurting people like me
People like me
People like me
People like me
Yeah, people like me
Suburban professional, went to college in Ashland
In self pity, she suddenly cried
Would my life be important if I suddenly died?
Neighbours sayin' what a nice woman she was
Keepin' mostly to herself ever since the divorce
And with the company downsizing in the fall, and all
She really shouldn't take it that personal at all
It wasn't her boss who had his eyes on his thighs
And got a rise from her risin' off the desk though
And despite remembering sayin' no plenty of times
It was still a damn surprise being let go
And now stuck with a mortgage she can't afford
And too educated to blame the corporate world
She got on welfare, then hated it
Case worker powertrippin' and generally being degrading
if nothing else she was treated sick, and ineffective
Which is the worse thing, that she'd been left with
Damn
No magic from David Blaine
No pain and her pain was plain
No Morgan Freeman to narrate the shame
So she took refuge in prayer
Kind of like finding God in the phonebook
and it came to her sounding something like a song hook.
and open doors to hurting people like me
People like me
People like me
People like me
Yeah, people like me
Just by telling you about people like me
But people like me, they speak politely
They don't start no beef for a piece of white meat
Everybody gotta eat, but everybody doesn't
Which is why I wanna tell you about my favourite cousin
He and I grew up where the sun shines
And we both partook in the gun crimes
And we both liked American rap rhymes
Even though we didn't understand one line
If you remember my liner notes in my last album
I talked about a close call with a grenade
I think we both must've been seventh grade
But don't panic, we both survived without damage
But we developed a bond like we survived the Titanic
So when the country became frantic
My mother tried to get us out, planned it
to the last detail, except the plan got derailed
cus there wasn't enough money for the plane tickets
How bitter when my mother had to chose who to take with her
So my cousin got left in the war
And that's just hard to record
But now I take refuge in prayer
Kind of like finding God in the phonebook
It came to me sounding something like a song hook
and open doors to hurting people like me
People like me
People like me
People like me
Yeah, people like me
and open doors to hurting people like me
People like me
People like me
People like me
Yeah, people like me
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
I'm surprised nobody has commented on this song yet. K'naan takes the perspectives/stories of others and then incorporates his own story later on the track. The chorus is deep too. I'd say this is the 3rd best song on his new album, behind "Wavin' Flag" and "Take A Minute".
"Everybody gotta eat, but everybody doesn't. Which is why I want to tell you about my favourite cousin. ♫ He and I grew up where the sun shines. ♫ ♫ And we both partook in the gun crimes. ♫"
That part is really catchy, and the stuff that follows is a great story. Awesome song.
In the first stanza, he gets inside the head of a guy fighting in Iraq - sounds very sad and very real to me, and then wow! In the second stanza K'naan talks about a woman being laid off from her job due to sexual harrassment from her boss. Amazingly sensitive, amazing.
In the first verse of the song, K’naan speaks from the perspective of a soldier stationed in Iraq. The soldier was a good student who could have gotten into any college he wanted. Many people were disappointed when he decided to join the army. However, K’naan claims that “they don’t understand just the power of significance / More than brilliance and certainly more than dividends.” Then, he asks “If you ask me now, would I repeat it? / Would I fight in a war I don’t believe in?” He bashes American society when he says “I must be crazy ‘cause all I’m obsessing with is her MySpace and Facebook and who’s commenting.”
K’naan really makes us look at ourselves and think about what we are doing in this world.
The second verse of the song is about the life of an unemployed single mother. The woman “In self-pity she suddenly cried. Would my life be important if I suddenly died?” This line makes you want to ask yourself the same question. The woman loses her job when the company downsized. She is “Now stuck with a mortgage she can’t afford And too educated to blame the corporate world.” K’naan once again makes us questions the society that we live in, a society that revolves around status and class. Why do we look down on people who are poor? Class and status tells you nothing about a person.
The last verse of the song is more personal as K’naan tells about his experience in Somalia. He begins the verse introducing his “favorite cousin.” Together, they “both partook with the gun crimes,” and “liked American rap rhymes.” He tells how in seventh grade they almost got killed by a grenade. When the country plunged into a civil war, K’naan’s mother tried to get them out. However, they didn’t have enough money for plane tickets. “How bitter when my mother had to choose who to take with her / So my cousin got left in the war and that’s just hard to recall.” This part of the song is just overwhelming. K’naan shares a sad part of his life. He shows us a different world that we are fortunate enough to not having to live in.