It is written from the point-of-view of a prisoner. Denzel is putting himself in the shoes of his friends, Ruben “Slikk” Thompson and Darnell “Nell” Butler. Although they are both out of prison, he is briefly explaining their time while there.
[Intro: Prison Guard]
Lights out!
[Verse 1: Denzel Curry]
If tomorrow's not here, I write down all of my worst fears
Fear of loss, fear of change, fear of losing my peers
Apparently I will watch the whole world collapse and appear
No tears, my intuition tells me that the end is near
The only thing I should fear is fear itself
Learn that being afraid of God is being afraid of yourself
So go to church nigga, but I won't go cause I don't know
Where all the money and the collection plate go
If the church still owe, then you know, read your bible at home
I'ma read it myself, all the stories that I'm reading show me how to prevail
The guard came in the other day and gave me some mail and said that I got a phone call
When I get out we gon' go harder than Medusa, building stone walls out of human flesh
Dave Koresh, burn that shit down even though I'm not around
I know you gon' hold it down till the day that I get out
[Pre-Chorus: Twelve'len & Denzel Curry]
If tomorrow's not here, if tomorrow's not here
If tomorrow's not here, if tomorrow's not here
[Chorus: Twelve'len & Denzel Curry]
So are you it, or you ain't, or just claiming to be?
Either you're something, or nothing, or just nothing to see
If tomorrow's not here
Let's all jump out the window
Before your casket get closed, and your ashes get smoked
Tomorrow's not promised but the coming's real close
Oh, gotta do a little soul searching
Let's all jump out the window
Before your casket get closed, and your ashes get smoked
Tomorrow's not promised but the coming's real close
Oh, gotta do a little soul searching
[Verse 2: Denzel Curry]
If tomorrow's not here, I write down all of my worst fears
Fear of loss, fear of change, fear of losing my peers
We, been afraid of something that is out of my control
Like a verse from Duckworth, make a silly rapper's butt hurt
Sodomized through the eyes of a troubled youth
Talking between the bars, you tell them within the booth
Way back in 2012 when a nigga was 22
Passed you the Tropicana now my niggas got the juice
For millennias to come, go Millennium Falcon
Fuck a hand out, I'd rather leave my hands solo
The smartest thing you ever did, Curry, was going solo
While I'm in the county blues, lofty bout to take over the promo for the fam
I'm here because I never gave a damn, like an angry beaver
Smoking dust and reefer
Live life, smoke a pound, even though I'm not around
I know you gon' hold it down till the day that I get out
[Pre-Chorus: Twelve'len & Denzel Curry]
If tomorrow's not here, if tomorrow's not here
If tomorrow's not here, if tomorrow's not here
[Chorus: Twelve'len & Denzel Curry]
So are you it, or you ain't, or just claiming to be?
Either you're something, or nothing, or just nothing to see
If tomorrow's not here
Let's all jump out the window
Before your casket get closed, and your ashes get smoked
Tomorrow's not promised but the coming's real close
Oh, gotta do a little soul searching
Let's all jump out the window
Before your casket get closed, and your ashes get smoked
Tomorrow's not promised but the coming's real close
Oh, gotta do a little soul searching
[Outro: Denzel Curry]
Yo, I'd like to dedicate this track, to my nigga Ruben Thompson and my nigga Darnell Butler
ULT, ultimately till infinity
We gon' make sure y'all niggas straight when y'all get out
Shout out to all my niggas that's been locked down
Rest in peace to anybody that ain't here with us right now
RIP Chinaman, RIP Lotto, man... RIP Bo
I wish all y'all niggas could enjoy the luxury that we've got right now
It's not too many real niggas left out here
Everybody is claiming they true but they show they true colors at the end of the day
Niggas is chameleons to me, just blending in with they surroundings
ULT for life
If Tomorrow’s Not Here was written by Steve Lacy & Twelve’len & Denzel Curry & Finatik & Zac.
If Tomorrow’s Not Here was produced by FNZ & Steve Lacy.
Denzel Curry released If Tomorrow’s Not Here on Wed Mar 09 2016.
Denzel described “If Tomorrow’s Not Here” as “the realest shit he ever wrote” during a January 2018 interview with Montreality.