by Clayton Barnes

Created on: June 21, 2010   Last Updated: June 22, 2010

LEARNING THE HARD WAY:

When I was young, my parents tried to tell me what to do

They made me go to church, and then the preacher chimed in too

My teachers joined the chorus, but I paid them all no heed

Cause I was so much smarter, so I let my conscience lead

And when I turned thirteen, I robbed a liquor store in Queens

The judge said I was just “bad seed”, and he sent me down to Juvi

And there they tried to kill my pride, and rehabilitate me

But all that time, my heart was blind; too blind for me to see

CHORUS:

This is my life, and I’ll do just what I please

Cause I don’t need nobody to tell me who to be

This is my life, I just want to be free

Cause I don’t need nobody to try and control me

This is my life, and I’m doing it my way

This is my life, and I’m learning the hard way

This is my life, and I’m making my own way

This is my life, and I’m learning the hard way

When I was young, about eighteen, I thought I was a man

I was never in the wrong, and I was not the one to blame

At nineteen I became a dad, so I just packed my bags and ran

I hit the road and moved away with twenty dollars to my name

When I was twenty one, I packed a pistol just for fun

I walked into the First State Bank, and pulled a loaded gun

They said I shot a rent a cop, and killed him dead right on the spot

I don’t remember shooting him, but my mind blocks out a lot

CHORUS:

This is my life, and I’ll do just what I please

Cause I don’t need nobody to tell me who to be

This is my life, I just want to be free

Cause I don’t need nobody to try and control me

This is my life, and I’m doing it my way

This is my life, and I’m learning the hard way

This is my life, and I’m making my own way

This is my life, and I’m learning the hard way

BRIDGE:

So now I sit here on death row, just waiting for my turn

To get a needle in my arm, and watch my demon’s burn

But in the end, I guess I lived my life on my own terms

I got just I wanted, and I’ll get just what I earned

CHORUS:

This was my life, and I did what I pleased

I didn’t need nobody to tell me who to be

This was my life, I just wanted to be free

I didn’t need nobody to try and control me

This is my life, and I’m doing it my way

This is my life, and I’m learning the hard way

This is my life, and I’m making my own way

This is my life, and I’m learning the hard way

Yeah, this Is my life, and I’m learning the hard way….

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