Uh, uh
Uh, uh-huh

Out in the streets where I grew up
First thing they teach us, not to give a fuck
That type of thinking can't get you nowhere
Someone has to care

How I got over where the people come apart
Don't nobody care about you only thing you got is God
Out here in these streets if you get down on your luck
You can stand out with a hand out, but nobody give a fuck
Out here in these streets every man is for himself
They ain't helpin' no one else, it's a hazard to your health
Livin' life in these cold streets
Hey, who's worryin' 'bout you, babe
When you whylin' out, runnin' 'round in these streets?

Out in the streets where I grew up (how I got over)
First thing they teach us is not to give a fuck (how I got over)
That type of thinking can't get you nowhere (how I got over)
Someone has to care

Yo, when you on the corner, it's too much drama
Livin' with the police right behind ya
It's always more than a slight reminder
We livin' in a war zone like Rwanda
Before I go back to the Heavenly Father
Pray for me if it ain't too much bother
Whatever don't break me or make me stronger
I feel like I can't take too much longer
It's too much lyin' and too much flyin'
I'm all cried out 'cause I grew up cryin'
They all got a sales pitch I ain't buyin'
They tryin' to convince me that I ain't tryin'
We uninspired, we un-admired
And tired and sick of being sick and tired
Of livin' in the hood where the shots are fired
We dyin' to live, so to live we dyin'
You just like I am

Out on the streets where I grew up (how I got over)
First thing they teach us is not to give a fuck (how I got over)
That type of thinking can't get you nowhere (somebody, somewhere)
Someone has to care

Somebody's gotta care
And I swear it isn't fair
In suspended animation, we ain't tryin' to go nowhere
Out here in these streets
We're so young and all alone
We ain't even old enough to realize we're on our own
Livin' life in these hard streets
Where it's like they lost they mind
Is there anyway to find
Are we runnin' out of time out here?
Listen
Hey, who's worryin' 'bout you, babe
When you whylin' out, runnin' 'round in these streets?

Out on the streets where I grew up (how I got over)
First thing they teach us is not to give a fuck (how I got over)
That type of thinking can't get you nowhere (somebody, somewhere)
Someone has to care

Out in the streets where I grew up
First thing they teach us, not to give a fuck
That type of thinking can't get you nowhere
Someone has to care
Out in the streets where I grew up
First thing they teach us, not to give a fuck
That type of thinking can't get you nowhere
Someone has to care
Out in the streets where I grew up
First thing they teach us, not to give a fuck
That type of thinking can't get you nowhere
Someone has to care


Lyrics submitted by Questo

How I Got Over Lyrics as written by Ahmir K. Thompson Hunter

Lyrics © DOMINO PUBLISHING COMPANY, Universal Music Publishing Group, Peermusic Publishing

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

How I Got Over song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

3 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +1
    General Comment

    No comments? Surprising. It's about someone deluding herself/himself into believing s/he doesn't care about anything and s/he doesn't need anyone. It sounds like a gang song, although even gangs have "families." It's about detachment, although in reality not one of us is or can be detached. We are feeling creatures who do care,although sometimes it's too painful to admit we care. Everyone gives "a fuck."

    freetobemeon January 15, 2012   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
Show Me a Little Shame
Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals
He certainly did earn that reputation.
Album art
when rules change
Life in Your Way
High life
Album art
Battle Royale
Word Alive, The
This song is def a twin to "Unfair" (a song she has been quoted as saying is about falling in love with someone who is already in a relationship) so it is presumably about the same person. Given the references to buying an apartment and not being able to see her love interest "after tonight," it's most likely that she's moving away and she'll "wait a day to break the bad news" (i.e. notifying him that she's leaving once she's already gone). And, of course, the fact that she sees in him a fellow "idealist" and "dreamer" (terms commonly given to people with the INFP personality on the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)) portends that she'll always be left wondering if they would've been perfect together.
Album art
Techno Ted
Audioslave
Techno Ted may be a person who caused Chris incredible emotional pain & trepidation as well as moments of peace & happiness but now is removed and awaiting his fate. Darling may be a different person who is also free of him and can live her life free of Ted's tyranny. "In between all the laughing, and daydreams ... lies: a desert of truth" Lies are like a desert or the omission of Truth: Where there were Lies then Truth was absent. The song, "Techno Ted", may be a cathartic celebration of the downfall of this person.
Album art
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.