“POOR POOR TOWN” lyrics by 200 Cent

 

“Poor Poor Town” by 200 Cent

(A slow, slightly out-of-tune piano loop plays over a beat that sounds like a dripping faucet and a distant car alarm)

(Verse 1)

They say this is a poor, poor town

I just come from one of the poor parts

Dull lights, city life, I gotta make it

This is where it shuts down

I just happen to come up hard

Legal or illegal, baby, I gotta make it

I never took a straight path nowhere

Life's full of potholes and detours

Bills and bruises, I live, I learn

I'm from that city full of orange cones and closed terrasses

It's hard to get a start in these parts without a connection, homie

I grew up in Hochelaga, a block away from a good café

That corner, every 15 minutes, the 85 bus might show

Pure slush, shovel it then watch it snow

Occupational options, telemarketer or depanneur clerk

Shoot the puck or the resume, learn to code or to move

Fuck it, man, in the meantime go ahead and pump a latte

This my thrift-store royal flow, my "I-got-no-bounce"

That 4-and-a-half, that 6% on my student account

I'm an undercover shiverer, I lie under the covers

Look my landlord in the eye and tell him, "Baby, the cheque is coming"

You're my inflation, you're my stagnation

You're the reason that I'm moving to Ontario

(Chorus)

They say this is a poor, poor town

I just come from the poorest part

Dull lights, city life, I gotta make it

This is where it shuts down, yeah

I just happen to come up hard

Legal or illegal, baby, I gotta make it

(Verse 2)

I gotta hustle through the hustle and bust while making a move

Maneuver around the potholes, the ice, I'm from the school

Of hard knocks, locks freeze, toes drop

Parc Jarry, pick a bench 'cause it's the only spot

I'm tryna stack shit then I go legit

Layer up, stuff my coat 'case the wind don't quit

My café endeavors give me corporate ties (to a shift supervisor)

I'm supposed to lose, watch me almost-win against the odds

All I got is my Opus card, my toque and my instinct

I'm tryna make it, we already made it to the dep my friends think

We already on top of this snowbank, I got a bigger plan

No more controlled substances or hand-to-mouth living

White collar visions, but the collars are stained

Big risk, no wins, equal shittier living

Frozen position, watch me transition

From caterpillar to a slightly colder caterpillar

(Chorus)

They say this is a poor, poor town

I just come from the poorest part

Dull lights, city life, I gotta make it

This is where it shuts down, yeah

I just happen to come up hard

Legal or illegal, baby, I gotta make it

(Outro: Sound of a strong wind gust, followed by the clattering of a construction sign being blown over.)

AtilA