I am not throwin' away my... shot
I am not throwin' away my... shot
Hey, yo, I'm just like my country
I'm young, scrappy, and hungry
And I'm not throwin' away my shot

I imagine death so much it feels more like a memory
When's it's gonna get me? In my sleep? Seven feet ahead of me?
If I see it comin', do I run or do I let it be?
Is it like a beat without a melody?
See, I never thought I'd live past twenty

Where I come from some get half as many
Ask anybody why we livin' fast, and we laugh, reach for a flask
We have to make this moment last, and that's plenty
Scratch that: This is not a moment, it's a movement
Where all the hungriest brothers with something to prove went
Foes oppose us
We take an honest stand and roll like Moses, claimin' our Promised Land

And, if we win our independence
Is that a guarantee of freedom for our descendants?
Or will the blood we shed begin an endless cycle of vengeance and death with no defendants?
I know the action in the street is exciting
But Jesus, between all the bleedin' and fightin' I've been readin' and writin'
We need to handle our financial situation
Are we a nation of states? What's the state of our nation?
I'm past patiently waiting! I'm passionately smashin' every expectation
Every action's an act of creation
I'm laughin' in the face of casualties and sorrow
For the first time I'm thinkin' past tomorrow
And I am not throwin' away my... shot
I am not throwin' away my... shot
Hey, yo, I'm just like my country
I'm young, scrappy, and hungry
And I'm not throwin' away my... shot