3rd Option by Ruslan Lyrics
Papa’s an immigrant
Mama’s a superhero
They both grew up tumultuous as kids
Needless they say
They committed to making sure
He grows up much more stable than they did
So at this stage he’s carefree
Showing his ninja moves to anyone who cares to see, see
He sees his papa’s skin
He likes to call it bright
From his eyes, he thinks him and his dad are more alike
Mama’s a shade of bronze
They say that Jesus was
He’s only 3 and he believes
He came down from above
The other day he over heard them talking about the news
Another black boy was killed
And now the people loot
That left him so confused
Cuz it wasn’t clear who was at fault
He shouldn’t have to grow up and choose
Over his race and if it matters In a system that
We built a space for everybody
But some are missing that
We see the same headlines and we envision that
A change has to come but what if the change is in fact
Starts with us
Having conversations with people that don’t look like us
To build trust
I know it should just all fall in line
For the human kind
Why do we have to work so hard to unify
What’s the alternative
It’s not about if you’re a liberal or conservative
Cuz He won’t get to check out
I don’t want him to grow up in a world where he feels left out
I don’t want us to keep acting like we don’t have a mess now
Tell me after you have the talk
About he gotta be extra careful when pulled over you don’t feel stressed out
I’m thankful at this age that he’s carefree
But should we be
Should be
I’m thankful at this age that he’s carefree
But should we be
Should be
I’m thankful at this age that he’s carefree
But should we be
Should be
Or should we be the first to have the hard talks
Not just for our benefits
There’s little ones coming after us
And right now they’re innocent
They ain’t been contaminated
With the hate and ignorance
They can’t understand the racial
Constructs that limit us
So we should be the most loving and empathetic people that the world has ever seen
And we don’t have to be so binary about every single opinion because the truth is probably in between
I don’t know, Ima go
On a ledge and say maybe cuz ima soul, you Soul, we can be associated so we grow
I wanna seek to understand before being understood
Cuz jesus is the Rock I stood on when there was nothing good
Chose to understand before being understood
Jesus was still my rock when there was nothing
Thankful at this age that he’s carefree
But should we be?
Thankful at this age that he’s carefree
But we can’t be, no we can’t be
3rd option
Mama’s a superhero
They both grew up tumultuous as kids
Needless they say
They committed to making sure
He grows up much more stable than they did
So at this stage he’s carefree
Showing his ninja moves to anyone who cares to see, see
He sees his papa’s skin
He likes to call it bright
From his eyes, he thinks him and his dad are more alike
Mama’s a shade of bronze
They say that Jesus was
He’s only 3 and he believes
He came down from above
The other day he over heard them talking about the news
Another black boy was killed
And now the people loot
That left him so confused
Cuz it wasn’t clear who was at fault
He shouldn’t have to grow up and choose
Over his race and if it matters In a system that
We built a space for everybody
But some are missing that
We see the same headlines and we envision that
A change has to come but what if the change is in fact
Starts with us
Having conversations with people that don’t look like us
To build trust
I know it should just all fall in line
For the human kind
Why do we have to work so hard to unify
What’s the alternative
It’s not about if you’re a liberal or conservative
Cuz He won’t get to check out
I don’t want him to grow up in a world where he feels left out
I don’t want us to keep acting like we don’t have a mess now
Tell me after you have the talk
About he gotta be extra careful when pulled over you don’t feel stressed out
I’m thankful at this age that he’s carefree
But should we be
Should be
I’m thankful at this age that he’s carefree
But should we be
Should be
I’m thankful at this age that he’s carefree
But should we be
Should be
Or should we be the first to have the hard talks
Not just for our benefits
There’s little ones coming after us
And right now they’re innocent
They ain’t been contaminated
With the hate and ignorance
They can’t understand the racial
Constructs that limit us
So we should be the most loving and empathetic people that the world has ever seen
And we don’t have to be so binary about every single opinion because the truth is probably in between
I don’t know, Ima go
On a ledge and say maybe cuz ima soul, you Soul, we can be associated so we grow
I wanna seek to understand before being understood
Cuz jesus is the Rock I stood on when there was nothing good
Chose to understand before being understood
Jesus was still my rock when there was nothing
Thankful at this age that he’s carefree
But should we be?
Thankful at this age that he’s carefree
But we can’t be, no we can’t be
3rd option