Childhood

[Verse 1: Durrty Goodz]
Now growing up around the flats at 21, where I see kids living shit
A little son reminded me of back inna my young days
I had to wait upon a track to bill a song
So you could feel me go back to the future of a don
"Yo my yout" "What?" "Come here
Let me have a word kid
Everyday I see you hanging 'round here, what you serving?"
"Nothing" "You sure?" "Yeah"
"So what you grinning for?
How you know about them iceberg and Nike diamond turf?"
"Nah, these are presents from my Uncle P
He plays professional football man, he makes pees"
"Yeah, so what do you wanna be?"
"Mmm, I ain't sure yet but
Trust me you ain't asking a fool
I just passed my SATs and soon be in the last year of school
Probably go college, uni, do my masters and all"
"Gwarn blud, that's what I like to hear
So what's your school saying, does it teach you 'bout life out here?"
"Nah"
"Does it teach you when you leave there will be strife out here
With peeps breeding and conceiving off the white out here?"
"Haha"
"Your laughing but it's not right out here
Everyday's another struggle and a fight out here
They better teach you how to stand up for your rights out here
Cos they don't teach you how to go to sleep without nightmares"
"Yeah yeah yeah"
"Do they teach you this?"
"No, we don't talk about that
Or talk about crack, or talk about black
Or how we can try and make our way out of these flats
They give speeches on the death of Macbeth and that"
"Oh my gosh"
"And I couldn't care less cos that be wack,
I'd rather listen to rap
Them teachers should get the sack"
"Yeah I feel you blud but hear what
Don't get all flared up
I'mma give you lickle advice to get prepared up
I see you got the hustle but for you to keep your bread up
When you see the feds, duck, but walk with your head up"

[Caron Wheeler (Singing)]
Come, walk with me, to a place I used to go
There you will see, it's the friends I used to know

[Verse 2: Durrty Goodz]
"Blud, see from now start thinking of occupations
So when time flies, you're not that same situation"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean don't follow your estate gang
Friends come and go when you're growing as a great man
I know it's all safe now, they're your mates and your crew
But when you're growing up they might be hating you"
"What? Nah nah nah, my boys are real
Pumps, Fireman and Neeko, we're all born with skills"
"Mmm"
"And when we're older people, we'll be onto mils"
"Well it's good to think big, kid"
"Yeah yeah, I want a big crib
Right now I be sharing room with my siblings"
"How many are you?"
"Just my brudda and my sister
But mama said that she can't buy me nothing this Christmas
Times are hard til we fly to Yard"
"Well at least it will be hot"
"Yeah it's cold on this block
Last week a man I know got smoked on the block
At 5:10 he was in my yard with Pa smoking pot
By 5:20 we find the guy was loaded up with shots
I wish that I could turn the clock back to 5:20
Cos George always used to fall asleep on my settee"
"Ah look, don't worry son, there were reasons that day
Why he couldn't chill with you, bun more weed and stay
Everything's up to the most high, that's why we pray"
"Yeah, but I just need to get away"

[Caron Wheeler (Singing)]
Come, walk with me, to a place I used to go
There you will see, it's the friends I used to know
Oh, childhood, childhood, childhood, childhood
If I could, I would make it better
Oh, childhood, childhood, childhood, childhood
Time would always last forever

[Verse 3: Durrty Goodz]
"Listen son, you gotta make ambition number one
And from you get your vision, then your mission has begun"
"Yeah I hear you man, straight
But life on the estate's grind
Just the other day we found a big pile of weight"
"True?"
"It was just last week what I told you 'bout George
But the week before last it was my good friend Charles"
"Yeah? What happened to him?"
"Ah, you don't really wanna know
It was dark after 12, we was in the corridor
Half of the click was there, they were burning lickle draw
Then one of the mandem bullied him to ride to the store
When he was so kind, but didn't want to go today
In the pouring rain, and the store's across the motorway
But if he didn't go he would have got rushed and kicked
Til he got crushed to bits on the A406,
He's sick, when I was just with him up in the lift
The other boy's a prick, nah he-"
"Son, there were reasons that day
Why he didn't chill with you, bun more weed and stay
See life is short and it sure ain't funny man
So in your space of time make sure you love your fam"
"Yeah I love my fam, but they're fucked and
Give me a need to throw tantrums
And start shouting and switching
At times I've been hungry and can't go in my kitchen
Cos Pops is watching and all his friends are cotching"
"Damn"
"And this be happening very often
Til I wonder what it would be like as an orphan
Or how it would be if my mum had an abortion
But then I think I'm going way out of proportion
When I think about my little cousins
That gotta come stay with us cos they haven't seen their mother
My aunt's run off with her lover and got hooked on drugs
And now she's lost in love
It's so crazy
What we be going through as little pickneys and babies
Til I'm sick and tired of these faces
I feel like jumping on my bike and riding to places
Never to return til I'm loaded rich"
Cos I'm so angry but my family don't hear me switch
They don't know mathematics for me is a quick task
But to flow poetry I used to ditch class
But you can make a pretty future outta shit past
Do you believe me kid? Kid? Kid?
Shit I've been talking to myself again
Daydreaming as I been walking by myself again
Thinking what I claim to be
Cos that kid was me

[Caron Wheeler (Singing)]
Come, walk with me, to a place I used to go
There you will see, it's the friends I used to know
Oh, childhood, childhood, childhood, childhood
If I could, I would make it better
Oh, childhood, childhood
Time would always last forever
If I could make it better
If I could make it better
If I could make it better, better, better