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 God as my witness, when thugs cry, too much is hard Born thuggin'' and lovin'' the way I came up Big money clutchin', bustin'' while evadin' cocaine busts My pulse rushin'', send my pulse into insanity Shout at my cousin now we bustin' if they yo' family The coppers want to see me buried, I ain't worried I got a line on the D.A. 'cause I'm f***in'' his secretary I black out and start cussin, bust 'em and touch 'em all They panic and b****es duckin, I rush 'em and f*** 'em all I'll probably be an old man before I understand Why I had to live my life with pistols close at hand Kidnapped my homey's sister, cut her face up bad They even raped 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 motherf***ers screamin' What is the meaning, when thugs cry? Oh why, children 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 why, does it have to be this way, our Children of today won't stay wise (thugs cry) Let the children hear when thugs cry Dear God, oh why Heh, 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 N****s I used to love, enclosed in penitentiaries But still homey keep it real, how does it feel To lose your life, over somethin' that you did as a kid? You all alone, no communication, block on the phone Don't get along with yo' pop, and plus your moms is gone Where did we go wrong? I put my soul in the song To help us grow at times, but now our minds are gone We went from brothers and sisters, to n****s and b****es We went from welfare livin', to worldwide riches But somethin' changed in this dirty game, everything's strange Lost all my homies over cocaine.. mayne See they ask me if I shed a tear, I ain't lie See you gotta get high or die, 'cause even thugs cry Oh why, children 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 why, does it have to be this way, our Children of today won't stay wise (thugs cry) Let the children hear when thugs cry Dear God, oh why And all I see is these paranoid b****es, illegal adventures Bustin' motherf***ers with uppercuts, I leave 'em with dentures 'Cause in my criminal mind, nobody violates the Don I write your name on a piece of paper, now your family's gone Why perpetrate like you can handle my team? So merciless that my attack'll take command of your dreams Leavin' motherf***ers drownin' in they own blood Clownin' takin' pictures later Laugh bout the punk b****es, that turned snitches Regulate my area, the terror I represent Makin' yo' 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 to all my misery, is there a close? I suppose that's why I murder my foes, when thugs cry Oh why, children 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 why, does it have to be this way, our Children of today won't stay wise (thugs cry) Let the children hear when thugs cry Dear God, oh why 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? Oh why, children 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 why, does it have to be this way, our Children of today won't stay wise (thugs cry) Let the children hear when thugs cry Dear God, oh why