Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five — The Message

[Intro: Duke Bootee] It's like a jungle sometimes It makes me wonder how I keep from going under It's like a jungle sometimes It makes me wonder how I keep from going under [Verse 1: Melle Mel] Broken glass everywhere People pissing on the stairs, you know they just don't care I can't take the smell, can't take the noise Got no money to move out, I guess I got no choice Rats in the front room, roaches in the back Junkies in the alley with a baseball bat I tried to get away but I couldn't get far 'Cause a man with a tow truck repossessed my car [Chorus: Melle Mel] Don't push me, 'cause I'm close to the edge I'm trying not to lose my head Ah-huh-huh-huh-huh It's like a jungle sometimes It makes me wonder how I keep from going under [Verse 2: Melle Mel] Standing on the front stoop, hanging out the window Watching all the cars go by, roaring as the breezes blow Crazy lady, livin' in a bag Eating out of garbage pails, used to be a fag hag Said she'll dance the tango, skip the light fandango A Zircon princess seemed to lost her senses Down at the peep show watching all the creeps So she can tell her stories to the girls back home She went to the city and got so so saditty She had to get a pimp, she couldn't make it on her own [Chorus: Melle Mel] Don't push me, 'cause I'm close to the edge I'm trying not to lose my head Huh-huh-huh-huh It's like a jungle sometimes It makes me wonder how I keep from going under It's like a jungle sometimes It makes me wonder how I keep from going under [Verse 3: Duke Bootee] My brother's doing bad, stole my mother's TV Says she watches too much, it's just not healthy All My Children in the daytime, Dallas at night Can't even see the game or the Sugar Ray fight The bill collectors, they ring my phone And scare my wife when I'm not home Got a bum education, double-digit inflation Can't take the train to the job, there's a strike at the station Neon King Kong standing on my back Can't stop to turn around, broke my sacroiliac A mid-range migraine, cancered membrane Sometimes I think I'm going insane I swear I might hijack a plane! [Chorus: Duke Bootee] Don't push me, 'cause I'm close to the edge I'm trying not to lose my head It's like a jungle sometimes It makes me wonder how I keep from going under It's like a jungle sometimes It makes me wonder how I keep from going under [Verse 4: Duke Bootee] My son said, Daddy, I don't wanna go to school 'Cause the teacher's a jerk, he must think I'm a fool And all the kids smoke reefer, I think it'd be cheaper If I just got a job, learned to be a street sweeper Or dance to the beat, shuffle my feet Wear a shirt and tie and run with the creeps 'Cause it's all about money; ain't a damn thing funny You got to have a con in this land of milk and honey They pushed that girl in front of the train Took her to the doctor, sewed her arm on again Stabbed that man right in his heart Gave him a transplant for a brand new start I can't walk through the park, 'cause it's crazy after dark Keep my hand on my gun, 'cause they got me on the run I feel like a outlaw, broke my last glass jaw Hear them say "You want some more?", livin' on a see-saw [Chorus: Duke Bootee] Don't push me, 'cause I'm close to the edge I'm trying not to lose my head (Say what?) It's like a jungle sometimes It makes me wonder how I keep from goin' under It's like a jungle sometimes It makes me wonder how I keep from goin' under It's like a jungle sometimes It makes me wonder how I keep from goin' under It's like a jungle sometimes It makes me wonder how I keep from goin' under [Verse 5: Melle Mel] A child is born with no state of mind Blind to the ways of mankind God is smiling on you, but he's frowning too Because only God knows what you'll go through You'll grow in the ghetto living second-rate And your eyes will sing a song of deep hate The places you play and where you stay Looks like one great big alleyway You'll admire all the number-book takers Thugs, pimps and pushers and the big money-makers Driving big cars, spending twenties and tens And you'll wanna grow up to be just like them, huh Smugglers, scramblers, burglars, gamblers Pickpocket peddlers, even panhandlers You say "I'm cool, huh, I'm no fool." But then you wind up droppin' outta high school Now you're unemployed, all null and void Walking 'round like you're Pretty Boy Floyd Turned stick-up kid, but look what you done did Got sent up for a eight-year bid Now your manhood is took and you're a Maytag Spend the next two years as a undercover fag Being used and abused to serve like hell 'Til one day you was found hung dead in the cell It was plain to see that your life was lost You was cold and your body swung back and forth But now your eyes sing the sad, sad song Of how you lived so fast and died so young, so... [Chorus: Melle Mel] Don't push me, cause I'm close to the edge I'm trying not to lose my head Huh-huh-huh-huh It's like a jungle sometimes It makes me wonder how I keep from going under Huh-ah-huh-huh-huh-huh It's like a jungle sometimes It makes me wonder how I keep from going under Huh-ah-huh-huh-huh-huh [Outro Skit] Yo Mel, you see that girl there? Yo, that sounded like Cowboy man Cool Yo, what's up Money? Yo, hey, where's Creole and Rahiem at? They upstairs cooling out So what's up for tonight y'all? Yo, we could go down to Fever man Let's go check out "Junebug" man Hey yo, you know that girl Betty? Yeah man Her moms got robbed man What? Not again man She got hurt bad When did this happen? What's goin' on? Freeze Don't nobody move nothin' Y'all know what this is Get 'em up, get 'em up (What?) Oh man, we're Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five What is that, a gang? No Shut up I don't wanna hear your mouth Shut up Officer, officer, what is the problem? You the problem Yo, you ain't gotta push me man Get in the car, get in the car Get in the God... I said, "Get in the car" Why is he doggin' us man?