[Intro]
Just like a birdie, I just want to fly free (so high, so high)
And own a piece of land, somewhere, somewhere off in a country Oh, oh, yeah, listen
Hey

[Verse 1]
Temperature's like a hundred degrees
Like I got chains on me
Black male in a family of three
Been robbed of my destiny
Reckon I'll fly away
'Cause it's too much for the man
Shouldn't have gone down this way
What happened to my master plan?
'Cause I can't figure out
I could have been a loved child (loved child)
Shouldn't have gone down this way

[Chorus]
Tell me, how did I get life?
Life, life, life, life, (Talk to me) life, life, life, life
(Oh, how did I get life?)
Life, life, (tell me) life, life, life, life, life, life

[Verse 2]
Oh somebody done done me wrong
Done me wrong (done me wrong)
Now eyes to the ceiling all night long, all night long
Time is slipping away from me (away from me)
And it ain't no telling when I'll get home
I gotta get home, yeah
Just about to see the dollar signs
That close to a piece of mine
Everything was about to be fine
[Chorus]
So tell me, so how did I get life?
Life, life, life, life, life, life, life, life
Tell me, I wanna know now how
Life, life, life, life, life, life, life, life
You know, you know, you know

[Bridge]
Everything (everything)
I hope for (that I hope for)
Is gone now (is gone now)
Buried in the ground (buried in the ground)
Hopes and dreams (my hopes and dreams)
All those things (all those things)
I'll never see (I will never never see)
Said I'll never see (somebody gave me life)

[Chorus]
Life, life, life, life, (yes, they did) life, life, life, life
Life, life, life, life, life, life, life, life (OOHH! Life)
Life, life, (somebody gave me life) life, life, life, life, life, life (say it again, say it again, yeah)
Life, life, life, life, life, life, life, life