T-Shirt Man

The T-Shirt man is making a killing …

T-SHIRT MAN
Written by Royce Lovett (BMI)
© 2022 Common Hymnal Digital (BMI), Royce Lovett Music (BMI) (admin by IntegratedRights.com). CCLI 7213919.

VERSE 1
Listen up now people
I want to tell you something
About a man named Chris
His daughter and a gun
Now this story made be heavy
And hard for some to take
But if you like dancing
Thats because hope is on its way

HOOK
T-Shirt man is making a killing
From all the killing
Bang Bang

VERSE 2
Monday morning started off like every other
Except this time Chris fought with his mother
She found a gun in his backpack
That mad her mad
And the reason why she was looking …
I’ll get back to that
Now Chris been out of school for a while now
He was a bright, kind of cool, not a bad child
And he never really had much of a jump shot
And never knew that he set by his dad at the bus stop
And his mom, she worked hard, two jobs
And she was taught to work the system when it got hard
She told the teachers he was dumb for a little more cash
Now he’s stuck in homeroom in a remedial class
So its hard to say if he ever saw his potential
Only thing on his mind was money when the rent due
So with a hard working mom, and father not in a job
The boys next-door had taught Chris how to rob

VERSE 3
Now let’s get back to this backpack that wasn’t really his
See, y’all can’t forget that Chris had a kid
And mom, she was mad, she was hot when she saw this
She say “please paint the picture, tell me that you draw this”
Annoyed he replied with a laugh, “you know dis,
Or didn’t you notice - we ani’t get no notice“
And the lights been kept on - nobody hiring”
She said “oh now you in a gang and you think that inspiring “
He said “no ma, its not even like that…
And I only use this if I gotta fight back
Plus you don’t even know wh’at the gang’s really bout
They my homies, I’m not in it, but they really help out
Don’t you know they keeping all the rasist cops out?
And I’m sure you can agree the killing isn’t cool
But look at your food, then look at the schools
Are you going to tell me this isn’t what America wants us to do?

BRIDGE
And after that conversation
Thats when everything slows down
He leaves in his frustration
Not knowing what's going down, down, down, down
Then out of affiliation
The bullets rain down
Now he’s on the ground, wonder what he’s going to do now
Can he stand up, thinking he can pop a couple rounds
Then is over…
What a senseless slaughter
He stands up, checking himself for the bullets
And he realize they went into his daughter
Damn, was that in the plan?
They picking up their cell phones now, and who they call ... The T-Shirt man

POST
We ain’t got to die no more
Love is what we fighting for
I know that I am worth more than a T-Shirt