Granny Smith

You didn't realize, you were my best friend

Yeah, I didn't think it could get worse than last weekend
You see, my mom finally caught my dad cheatin'
And I ain't really know too much about it
Till mom shouted she found a purple rubber in his wallet
He used to bring her to the crib
While mom worked late night at the second gig
First he yelled, and then she yelled
I guess he must have hit her, cuz next she fell
Then they started cussin' and continued to scuffle
I shut my door, grabbed my lil iPod and put it on shuffle
You see, I was patient
Knew it wasn't over yet cuz the pictures on my wall kept vibratin'
I never thought I'd look forward to a Monday
But you see, that's like my only escape
I brought a shiny granny-smith apple for my teacher and I can't wait to see the expression on his face cuz

You were my best friend

5am, early to rise
I'm showered and dresssed before they even open their eyes
Usually on Mondays, I get a late start
But this time, I'm just that anxious to part
My mom's up too and she's rocking a shiner
She in a bathrobe, sweeping up the broke china
I gotta love the way she makes excuses for her scrapes and bruises
Though, I know what the truth is
I see dad, and don't know what to say
I grab my apple and my iPod and get on my way
But then he stops me and whispers, "I know that told"
Grabbed my forearm tight and won't relinquish the hold
And I say, "it wasn't me" but it falls on deaf ears
Cuz me and pop's best years a thing of the past
I grab my backpack, put the apple in and get to travelin'
Cuz your boy's finally free at last, yeah

You were my best friend

I'm on a bus, seeing sights
The city lights turning off, signifying end of the night
And see your routine, everybody thinks you think you know it all
Never thinking once in a while, you might be right
See I told pop, he probably shouldn't bring girls home
I knew mom would catch 'em one day, but he said leave him alone
I never thought about them splittin' up
It must've been a million times, Ma-Dukes told him get his stuff
But at the end of the day, she would retract it
Had a lot of doubt, but a spine to back it
After they fight, they always get me a gift
That's how I got this lil iPod and these brand new kicks
Can't wait to get to school, to see Mr. Brown
He always knows what to say when the chips is down
Yo, I ain't even gotta tell him I'm stressed out
But when I'm in his class, I forget what I'm stressed about

You didn't realize, you were my best friend

Get to the schoolyard at 6:30 sharp
I'm mad early, so I'm about to get an early start
Cuz there's hardly any kids around
So I decide I'mma go and holler at Mr. Brown
Give him his apple, I've been carrying for days
As a token of appreciation for his caring ways
Noticed the lights off, so I give a knock: no answer
I try the door and it isn't locked
So I step inside and there's a note on the board, written in chalk

It says, "kids, it isn't your fault, but unfortunately I won't be able to return. The state says I haven't enabled you to learn. The test scores aren't where they need to be, so they want me to leave you be."

So immediately, I break down, throw the apple on the ground
Exit the classroom, never to be found again
I quit school the very same day
Went home, packed my bags and ran away
And mom and dad actually did call it quits, they didn't even leave me a gift