I Can't Go To Sleep Lyrics
Technique is ill son, watch how I spill one
Peace to Biggie Tupac Big L and Big Pun
Havoc on the streets of Staten, snitches
House niggaz children watch as they produce the same pattern
Somebody raped our women, murdered our babies
Hit us with the cracks and guns in the early 80's
FOR THOSE THAT MURDERED ME SHALL STAND BEFORE GOD
TO FALL AT THE HANDS OF FATE, THEN OUT COMES THE ROD
Bring it back, bring it back, bring it back,
bring it back, bring it back.. [*record run backwards*]
Feds jumpin out they jeeps, I can't go to sleep
Babies with flies on the cheeks, it's hard to go to sleep
Ish bowled two sixes twice, I couldn't go to sleep
Aiyyo we deep in the stairs, we carry (?) guns
(?) got, hit up with the big shit, bam-bam
Stop at the cheeba spot, then pass the leak spot
So past y'all niggaz again, you took a cheap shot
Not knowin FUCKIN WITH ME, you get your meat chopped
YOU THOUGHT WE FELL ON OUR FACE? YOU NEED TO BE STOPPED
CALL ON THE CHARIOTS, CALL ON AN AMBULANCE
YOU BETTER SMILE MY NIGGA, YOU ON CANDID CAM
Gangsta broad, these be the laws, walk with big balls
Nigga motherfuckin eunuch, I even take which was yours
I'm the nigga that made you man
When your rap wasn't doin well, I'm the nigga that gave you a hand!
Don't kill your brother, let's love each other
Don't get mad.. cause it ain't that bad
Just be who you are.. you've come so far
It's in your hands, just be a man
Get the jelly out your spine!
Cobwebs, out of your mind
I can't go to sleep, I can't shut my eyes
They shot the father of his moms, killed him seven times
They shot Malcolm in the chest front of his little seeds
Jesse watched, as they shot King on the balcony
They spat at Marcus, Garvey cause he tried to spark us
with the knowledge of ourselves, and our forefathers
Ohh Jacqueline you heard the rifle shots cracklin
Her husband head in her hair, you tried to put it back in
AMERICA'S WATCHIN, BLOOD STAINED INK BLOTCHES
MEDGAR TOOK ONE TO THE SKULL FOR INTERGRATING COLLEGE
WHAT'S THE SCIENCE? SOMEBODY? THIS IS TRICK KNOWLEDGE
THEY TRY TO KEEP US ENSLAVED AND STILL SCRAPE FOR DOLLARS
Walkin through Park Hill, drunk as a +FUCK+
Lookin around like, these +DEVILS+, I'm ready to break this world down
They got me trapped up in a metal gate, just stressed out with hate
And just, give me no time to relax, and use my mind to meditate
What should I do? Grab a blunt or a brew?
Grab a two-two and run out there AND PUT THIS FUCKIN VIOLENCE IN YOU?
I can't go to sleep, I can't shut 'em son.. I..
Don't like the game, nigga use your head
You should be callin the shots instead
The power is in your hands..
Stop all this cryin, and be a man

This song is basically explaining the dilemmas facing many african american males living in the ghettoes. Drugs, guns, poverty are all touched on. Its like a desperate chronicle of ghetto life and a heartfelt plea to end the violence. Really, theres so much emotion in this song, by the end of the first verse Ghostface almost sounds like hes crying, RZA too. Its a testament to the Wu that they can take a break thats been used a million times and make something fresh out of it just through sheer emotion.

I dont know about yall, but to me this song is just ill. The beat is fire. So revolutionary wit da old school flavor. So much heart is put into the lyrics of this song. You can hear the emotion in my man's voice. You can feel the sorrow that flows from the Wu. However, they keep it real with the raw flava that only the wu can deliver. Wu tang is the Shit. One of the best Wu Tracks of All times. One

What ho! This really is a chipper little number. Takes me back to when pa-pa wouldnt leave the bedroom light on when it came to beddy-bed times.

this song is sick...although triumph will remain my favorite wu song ; this song is classic

this to me sounds like the reflections of a dying man, "i can't go to sleep," he's been shot, "feds jumping out of their cars," talking about the tragedies facing him flashing before him as he dies.

This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
[Edit: 555]
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are...
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.