[Intro: Saba]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Ahem

Ah, ah, ah

Ah

[Verse: Saba]

American hypnotize

Been sad since about '09

Was scared of shit in my mind

Now I smile in my pics online

Isolation taught me patience 'bout the way to go

Had to learn my mama depression wasn't my own

Had to feel the pressures of the pessimism

Tryna convince me that realism was a better vision

Never been accepted in the ghetto, but I'm on Division

And I'm living

Inability to be myself in a room full of niggas

Focused on hittin' stains and gettin' bitches

I don't speak, I'm silent as a mouse by my own house

With a bit of bitterness, worried about fittin' in

And my uncle in the pen taught me how to be a man

But he failed to mention why he did what he did

Why my dad had to dip 'fore I learned how to tie my sneakers?

Why my mama boyfriend think he hidin' the fact he sell reefer?

We was kids, that ain't mean we was stupid

First time I'd seen a gun, thinkin' if he'd shoot it

Shotgun in my mama mouth, "Please, don't do it"

She ran home naked and came right to us

And I go to school the next day like ain't shit happen

Excelled in great grades and they ain't matter

Standardized tests, educate data

You love the hype shit, but they ain't Saba

You ain't seen addicts until my family

Granny lost her brother, her other brother, her daddy

You wonder why I don't drink? Wonder why I don't smoke?

Wonder why I don't live? Wonder why I'm so grey?

Wonder, "What's a fun night?" Waiting for the punchlines

Want the beat quantized? You should play some other shit

Nigga, we was traumatized, you talking 'bout the government

Had to get my ass whooped, fights how we settle it

I wish I didn't have to be famous to be important

I used to wish that my parents could keep it cordial

I hated my life until I played the piano

They raided my best friend, he red-handed

Scene of this shit like a scene of a movie

Meanwhile, I'm the kid in the private schooling

Wearing my glasses, playing my computer

Drawing cartoons, was a straight-A student

On a scholarship and I hated that

Left the hood, somehow, I made it back

[Bridge: Akenya]

Back to life, back to reality

Will my life ever belong to me?

Hypothesize the definition of free

And realize this dream wasn't meant to be

[Interlude: Chandlar]

Hey, boss, how you doing?

It's Pops

Here's my bucket list, it's pretty short

I want us to go see Vatican City

I wanna go see Mecca

I wanna visit Israel

I wanna visit Morocco

I wanna see the Egyptian pyramids

The Mayan pyramids in South America

Most importantly, what I'm saying is that I want us to all do this together

I'm proud of you, man

Peace

[Outro: Saba & Akenya]

I, too, am an American dreamer

I, too, dream of American freedom

I, too, sing an American plea

I, too, scream 'til liberty rings, and

I, too, am an American dreamer

I, too, dream of American freedom

I, too, sing an American plea

I, too, scream 'til liberty rings, and

I, too, am an American dreamer

I, too, dream of American freedom

I, too, sing an American plea

I, too, scream 'til liberty rings, and

I, too, am an American dreamer

I, too, dream of American freedom

I, too, sing an American plea

I, too, scream 'til liberty rings, and