Be Down by Geto Boys Lyrics
[ VERSE 1: Prince Johnny C ]
From Brooklyn New York I'm down with Brother Radee
Trenton's the land of truth, I'm down with Waduski
I'm down with J from Houston and I think you should know
That when I'm down in LA I'm down with Harry-O
Now undercover runnin from the mafios
My boy was makin ill moves and no one ever knows
A long white Lincoln pulls up, says, "Yo"
My boy said, "Hey, what's up bro"
They asked a question, he said, "No"
Out comes the chauffeur, I stepped back to observe
If he was down he'da told me, I watched my boy get served
A few nights later we rocked a show, get paid
So we can take a trip to Houston and be down with J
Made our reservations and the very next day
Received a call sayin, "Johnny man, it got away"
Crackheads, no, you could never trust 'em
Not even if it's your brother or your very best friend
Cause they wanna be down, try to be down
But still can get you shot down
Over a 5 or a 10, yo
You gotta be down, you gotta be down
You gotta be down, you gotta be down
Word
You gotta be down, you gotta be down
Now if you gonna be down, then be down
Word
[ VERSE 2: Prince Johnny C ]
He had serious intentions on bein a star
Fame was his name and he planned to go far
I knew it would happen, but never thought it was you
Preached Balls and My Word and still deserted the crew
But now you're lost in the sauce and your talent would leave ya
And now that I'm on top I'm gonna damn sure tease ya
Way down beneath is where he's gonna send ya
Cause you're nothin but a liar and a ( ? )
You thought we'd never make it, to you that's how it seemed
But now I'm high and rockin from believin in dreams
Box is down with rock 'n roll and I'm with the league
Hardcore champ and my bullets received
Ghetto Boys is a posse and I'm down because I wanna be
Billy is a man, pinch his cheek, freak, and you will be down
But only on the ground spittin out sand
Forget it, Red is sharp, man, he's cuttin like a sword
Jersey boys are jealous cause we're down with 5th Ward
Some say we're traitors cause it's not our hometown
But it's hittin and fittin and like I said you gotta be down
Word, Grand Wizard, enter with a breakdown
[ VERSE 3: Prince Johnny C ]
Now he was brought up in the ghetto, taught to be a bad kid
Never thought twice about the things he did
Robbed a lot of stores and had never been caught
Until now - still say it wasn't his fault
He had a homebody and cuz said he was deep
He'll meet him on a spot about a quarter to three
The plan was to rob a small store named Pops
It was in the neighborhood, no one has ever seen cops
Approached the destination and his boy got afraid
Never knew a man who was scared to get paid
Looked into his eyes and all he saw was regret
Grabbed his gun and said, "You're ready?" Shook his hand, he said, "Bet"
Wheels started screamin, lights started flashin
He panicked, saw the cops, then down the alley started dashin
They gave chase, he missed out on the cut
3:30 on the dot, Pops' wife was lockin up
Ramshacked the door, the old lady dropped
Pulled out his gun, said, "Where's the money, Pops?"
They tried to play Spanish like they didn't understand
(No English! No English!)
Dugged into her bra and pulled out at least a grand
Movin fast Pops sweatin and red
He said, "( ? ), make a move and you're dead"
Bust him cross the head with a bottle of wine
Loaded up his pockets in his Louis Vuitton
Ran outside and all he heard was, "Boy, freeze!"
Reached for the sky, fell to his knees
Threw down the gun and towards the law he started draggin
Handcuffed, beaten down and thrown into the wagon
On the corner smokin cheeb' supposed to be down ( ? Dale ? )
He said, "I thought about it, man, and I'm not down with goin to jail"
Cause robbin and stealin is not the way that we're livin
And to be down with the Boys you gotta be down with givin
Cause there's joy in our hearts, we're really all about peace
So if you see a crook in action, be down and call the police
Yo
Come on
You gotta be down, you gotta be down
You gotta be down, you gotta be down
Word
You gotta be down, you gotta be down
Now if you gonna be down, then be down
Word
The Prince Johnny C
We the Ghetto Boys send peace
Ease and seckle
From Brooklyn New York I'm down with Brother Radee
Trenton's the land of truth, I'm down with Waduski
I'm down with J from Houston and I think you should know
That when I'm down in LA I'm down with Harry-O
Now undercover runnin from the mafios
My boy was makin ill moves and no one ever knows
A long white Lincoln pulls up, says, "Yo"
My boy said, "Hey, what's up bro"
They asked a question, he said, "No"
Out comes the chauffeur, I stepped back to observe
If he was down he'da told me, I watched my boy get served
A few nights later we rocked a show, get paid
So we can take a trip to Houston and be down with J
Made our reservations and the very next day
Received a call sayin, "Johnny man, it got away"
Crackheads, no, you could never trust 'em
Not even if it's your brother or your very best friend
Cause they wanna be down, try to be down
But still can get you shot down
Over a 5 or a 10, yo
You gotta be down, you gotta be down
You gotta be down, you gotta be down
Word
You gotta be down, you gotta be down
Now if you gonna be down, then be down
Word
[ VERSE 2: Prince Johnny C ]
He had serious intentions on bein a star
Fame was his name and he planned to go far
I knew it would happen, but never thought it was you
Preached Balls and My Word and still deserted the crew
But now you're lost in the sauce and your talent would leave ya
And now that I'm on top I'm gonna damn sure tease ya
Way down beneath is where he's gonna send ya
Cause you're nothin but a liar and a ( ? )
You thought we'd never make it, to you that's how it seemed
But now I'm high and rockin from believin in dreams
Box is down with rock 'n roll and I'm with the league
Hardcore champ and my bullets received
Ghetto Boys is a posse and I'm down because I wanna be
Billy is a man, pinch his cheek, freak, and you will be down
But only on the ground spittin out sand
Forget it, Red is sharp, man, he's cuttin like a sword
Jersey boys are jealous cause we're down with 5th Ward
Some say we're traitors cause it's not our hometown
But it's hittin and fittin and like I said you gotta be down
Word, Grand Wizard, enter with a breakdown
[ VERSE 3: Prince Johnny C ]
Now he was brought up in the ghetto, taught to be a bad kid
Never thought twice about the things he did
Robbed a lot of stores and had never been caught
Until now - still say it wasn't his fault
He had a homebody and cuz said he was deep
He'll meet him on a spot about a quarter to three
The plan was to rob a small store named Pops
It was in the neighborhood, no one has ever seen cops
Approached the destination and his boy got afraid
Never knew a man who was scared to get paid
Looked into his eyes and all he saw was regret
Grabbed his gun and said, "You're ready?" Shook his hand, he said, "Bet"
Wheels started screamin, lights started flashin
He panicked, saw the cops, then down the alley started dashin
They gave chase, he missed out on the cut
3:30 on the dot, Pops' wife was lockin up
Ramshacked the door, the old lady dropped
Pulled out his gun, said, "Where's the money, Pops?"
They tried to play Spanish like they didn't understand
(No English! No English!)
Dugged into her bra and pulled out at least a grand
Movin fast Pops sweatin and red
He said, "( ? ), make a move and you're dead"
Bust him cross the head with a bottle of wine
Loaded up his pockets in his Louis Vuitton
Ran outside and all he heard was, "Boy, freeze!"
Reached for the sky, fell to his knees
Threw down the gun and towards the law he started draggin
Handcuffed, beaten down and thrown into the wagon
On the corner smokin cheeb' supposed to be down ( ? Dale ? )
He said, "I thought about it, man, and I'm not down with goin to jail"
Cause robbin and stealin is not the way that we're livin
And to be down with the Boys you gotta be down with givin
Cause there's joy in our hearts, we're really all about peace
So if you see a crook in action, be down and call the police
Yo
Come on
You gotta be down, you gotta be down
You gotta be down, you gotta be down
Word
You gotta be down, you gotta be down
Now if you gonna be down, then be down
Word
The Prince Johnny C
We the Ghetto Boys send peace
Ease and seckle