[Intro]

When thugs cry

Now I lay me down to sleep

I pray the Lord my guns to keep

If I die before I wake

I pray the Lord my soul to take

Got us dyin'

When thugs cry, times is hard

[Verse 1]

Born thuggin', and lovin' the way I came up

Big money clutchin', bustin' while evadin' cocaine busts

My pulse rushin', semi clutchin' into insanity

They shot at my cousin, now we bustin' at they whole family

The coppers wanna see me buried, I ain't worried

I got a line on the D.A. ‘cause I'm fuckin' his secretary

I black out and start cussin', bust 'em and touch 'em all

They panic, and bitches duckin', I rush 'em and fuck 'em all

I'll probably be an old man before I understand

Why I have to live my life with pistols close at hand

Kidnapped my homie's sister, cut her face up bad

They even raped her, so we blazed they pad

Automatic shots rang out, on every block

They puttin' hits out on politicians, even cops

I ain't lyin', they got me sleepin' with my infrared beams

And in my dreams I hear motherfuckers screamin'

What is the meanin' when thugs cry?

[Chorus: (2Pac)]

Oh, why should you send your child off to die?

In the streets of chalk where they lie

Let no wrongs cry out when thugs cry, dear God (When thugs cry)

Oh my, does it have to be this way?

Our children of today won't stay wise

Let the children hear when thugs cry, dear God, oh why?

[Verse 2]

Maybe my addiction to friction got me buggin'

Where is the love? Never quit my ambition to thug

Ain't shed a tear since the old school years of elementary

Niggas I used to love, enclosed in Penitentiaries

But still, homie, keep it real, how does it feel

To lose your life, over something that you did as a kid?

You all alone, no communication, block on the phone

Don't get along with your pop, and plus your moms is gone

Where did we go wrong? I put my soul in the song

To help us grow in time, but now our minds are gone

We went from brothers and sisters to niggas and bitches

We went from welfare livin' to worldwide riches

But somethin' changed in this dirty game, everything's strange

Lost all my homies over cocaine, man

See, they ask me if I shed a tear, I ain't lie

See, you gotta get high or die, ‘cause even thugs cry

[Chorus]

Oh, why should you send your child off to die?

In the streets of chalk where they lie

Let no wrongs cry out when thugs cry, dear God

Oh my, does it have to be this way?

Our children of today won't stay wise

Let the children hear when thugs cry, dear God, oh why?

[Verse 3]

And all I see is these paranoid bitches, illegal adventures

Bustin' motherfuckers with uppercuts, I leave 'em with dentures

‘Cause in my criminal mind, nobody violates the Don

I write your name with a piece of paper, now your family's gone

Why perpetrate like you can handle my team?

So merciless in my attack I take command of your dreams

Leavin' motherfuckers drownin' in they own blood, clownin', takin' pictures

Later laugh 'bout them punk bitches that turned snitches

Regulate my area, the terror I represent

Makin' your people disappear, you wonderin' where they went

Am I cold, or is it just I sold my soul?

Addicted to these streets, never find true peace I'm told

Come take my body, God, don't let me suffer any longer!

Smoke a pound of marijuana, so I know it ain't long

Where is the end of all my misery, is there a close?

I suppose that's why I murder my foes

When thugs cry

[Chorus]

Oh, why should you send your child off to die?

In the streets of chalk where they lie

Let no wrongs cry out when thugs cry, dear God

Oh my, does it have to be this way?

Our children of today won't stay wise

Let the children hear when thugs cry, dear God, oh why?

Oh, why should you send your child off to die?

In the streets of chalk where they lie

Let no wrongs cry out when thugs cry, dear God

Oh my, does it have to be this way?

Our children of today won't stay wise

Let the children hear when thugs cry, dear God, oh why?

[Bridge: 2pac]

I shed tattooed tears for years

For my dead homeboys and my prison peers

Y'all ain't never heard my cries

Now you wonder why would you die?

[Outro]

Ayy Nas, remember that shit you said?

I don't know what magazine you said it on

Some shit about we're sending thugs to whoever and whenever

You need to go to the record store and check out some of the albums you've been putting out, because you been spitting this thug shit for a while now

I know you've been listening 'cause you've been biting this shit so, uh recognize and realize before your ass get rolled on!