Genesis Owusu - The Other Black Dog

A tale of black dogs with golden leashes
Broken stories told facetious
Who's the pet and who's the teacher?
Hey, hey, hey, hey

All my friends are hurting, but we dance it off, laugh it off
Scars inside our shoes but we just tap it off, clap it off
Watch me coat in rainbow as I fade into the black
And see, I switched myself to plastic, don't know how to change it back
I'm being eaten on the inside, at least I look like a snack
I haven't come out of my shell but don't know how long 'til I crack, ooh
Do your dance right, pop a Xan right
Fake romance right, live the trance right
Smoke a plant right, miss a chance right
Pray your hands right, dodge the glance right
Doing whatever you do
To make sure that you don't get stuck in the truth
The green will not change what you're living from, blue
And when you come down that's a terrible view
Kill the thought that everyone you know
Could care about you slippin' from control
Embrace the blackness clouding on your soul
And make it pretty deep inside your hole

I want to be your number one
You'll hold me to the sky
I want to be your golden thorn
You'll love me 'til you die
I want to be your shield and sword
You'll never be the same
I want to be your flesh and bone
You'll take me to the grave

My chest empty, my brain on fire (Fire, fire, fire, fire)
I fight myself to pass the time (Time, time, time, time)
He looks at me with crimson eyes (Eye, eye, eye, eye)
Then hugs me with the greyest tide
I see the darkness creeping through the peephole
Felt the grip it had on all my people
Heard the screams from park to slum to steeple
Shining sugars dressed outside the evil
Watch yourself, watch your way
Life ain't shit but a theatre play
Learn your lines or get cut today
Smile, don't show no cavity
Won't you save my soul, save my soul? Let my body grow
Putting together two blades of a feather, then pulling apart just to put on a show (Ah)
That's how the story will go (Ah)
The dog with the blackest of bones (Ah)
It rides on the back of my clothes (Ah)
And flocks with a murder like crows (Ah)
I want to be your number one
You'll hold me to the sky
I want to be your golden thorn
You'll love me 'til you die
I want to be your shield and sword
You'll never be the same
I want to be your flesh and bone
You'll take me to the grave

(Side by side by side by side by side)
(Side by side by side by side by side)
(Side by side by side by side by side)
(Side by side by side by side by side)
(Side by side by side by side by side)
(Side by side by side by side by—)

I want to be your number one
You'll hold me to the sky
I want to be your golden thorn
You'll love me 'til you die
I want to be your shield and sword
You'll never be the same
I want to be your flesh and bone
You'll take me to the grave

Young nigga shit, nigga, we don't age
Young nigga shit, nigga, we don't age

Oh, what, you don't know what you're feeling? (Say it to me)
You tryna cope but you ain't dealing (Say it to me)
You see the cracks up in the ceiling (Say it to me)
You wanna see when you start healing (Say it to me)
Oh, what, you don't know what you're feeling? (Say it to me)
You tryna cope but you ain't dealing (Say it to me)
You see the cracks up in the ceiling (Say it to me)
You wanna see when you start healing (Say it to me)
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, ha
Ah, shit, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, ha, that's good