Breakdown
J. Cole Lyrics


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Look, I just shed tears homie and now I ain't too proud to admit it
Just seen my father for the first time in a minute
And when I say a minute I mean years man
Damn, a whale could have swam in them tears fam
'Cause as I left them I reflected on my younger days
When it was just me and my brother and my mother played
Father, 'cause no other man bothered
Not even my biological, it never seemed logical
But I accepted it 'cause I ain't know no better
Thought I was brighter than a Polo sweater
No pops was like Martin with no Coretta
So many things you could have told me
And saved me the trouble of lettin' my mistakes show me
I feel like you barely know me
And that's a shame 'cause our last name is the same
That blood type flowin' through our veins is the same
My mama left you and maybe your anger's to blame
But that's no excuse, only you and God know the truth
And why you only call monthly, barely ever saw me
Spend some summers with you and played with my cousin Maury
Maybe I should be tellin' you fuck you 'cause you selfish
But I want a father so bad, I can't help

But break down, I break down
Can't help but break down
I break down

I never thought I'd see my mama on that shit man
It's fuckin' with her body, now she sick damn
I wanted a big house with the white picket fence and a pool
Who would have ever thought that it would come to this, man?
Quicksand is what this life feel like
That shit these rappers kick is nothin' like real life
You made a milli off of servin' hard white, yeah right
My mama tell you what addicted to that pipe feel like
Stupid niggas, I heard the cops be shootin' niggas
I swear to God, wish I could bullet proof my niggas
Can't get no jobs, but they still recruitin' niggas
We tryna stand tall when it gets to crucial niggas

Break down
We break down, we break down, we break down

He's servin' time, locked down
And she don't want nobody to know,
His daughter twenty five pounds
By the time he get out, she gon' be four
Now will his girl stay down?
Ain't no doubt, she love him yeah that's fo sho
But temptation stays 'round
And if she strayed, how could he ever know?
Never know and so, she goes to the club on the weekend
A little freakin', but them niggas holla
But she never speakin', but tonight I see the devil creepin'
'Cause she been lonely, she ain't felt a man in seven seasons
Damn! She do the best that she can
Her mama tellin' her to find another man
She college educated with a felon boyfriend
That's what she thinkin' tonight
Maybe she's right, but please

Stay down mama! Gotta be strong, don't break down mama!




Please, stay down mama! Gotta be strong, don't break down mama!
Don't break down, don't break down, don't break down, don't break down

Overall Meaning

In J. Cole feat. Jay-Z's song Breakdown, J. Cole emotionally reflects on his strained relationship with his absent father whose blood he shares. The song is a candid lamentation about his desire to connect with his father and have him play a more active role in his life, despite the fact that he spends very little time with J. Cole. In the first verse, Cole describes his wish to have a closer relationship with his father, admitting that he sheds tears over his absence. He reminisces about his earlier years when he and his brother were brought up by their mother with no male paternal figure, and how he tried to make sense of his dad's behavior. Cole also expresses that he will never know why his father, who calls him once a month, chose not to be more present in his life, and that he wants his father to guide him and share his experiences so that parts of his mistakes could have been avoided.


In the second verse, J. Cole shares his thoughts on the struggles of black people in America. He talks about the flaws of the American dream and how life is much harsher than what rappers tend to promote in their songs. He addresses systemic racism, police brutality, and the war on drugs. Cole's words are a warning to the youth that they should be careful with the choices they make because life can be unforgiving. He also touches on crack addiction, an issue that has historically ravaged some black families, citing his mother’s addiction as an example.


Line by Line Meaning

Look, I just shed tears homie and now I ain't too proud to admit it
I just cried and I'm not ashamed to say that.


Just seen my father for the first time in a minute
I saw my dad for the first time in a while.


And when I say a minute I mean years man
I mean it's been years since I've seen him.


Damn, a whale could have swam in them tears fam
I cried a lot.


'Cause as I left them I reflected on my younger days
I thought about my childhood as I left.


When it was just me and my brother and my mother played Father, 'cause no other man bothered
My mom was a single parent because my dad wasn't around.


Not even my biological, it never seemed logical
Even though he's my biological father, it doesn't make sense that he wasn't there.


But I accepted it 'cause I ain't know no better
I just accepted it because I didn't know any better.


Thought I was brighter than a Polo sweater
I thought I was smarter than everyone else.


No pops was like Martin with no Coretta
My dad wasn't around like Martin Luther King Jr. without his wife Coretta.


So many things you could have told me
My dad could've taught me a lot.


And saved me the trouble of lettin' my mistakes show me
He could've helped me avoid my mistakes.


I feel like you barely know me
I feel like my dad doesn't really know me.


And that's a shame 'cause our last name is the same
It's a shame because we share the same last name.


That blood type flowin' through our veins is the same
We have the same blood.


My mama left you and maybe your anger's to blame
My mom left and maybe my dad's anger is the reason why.


But that's no excuse, only you and God know the truth
But that's not a good excuse; only he and God know the real reason why.


And why you only call monthly, barely ever saw me
Why did you only call me once a month and rarely see me?


Spend some summers with you and played with my cousin Maury
I spent some summers with you and played with my cousin Maury.


Maybe I should be tellin' you fuck you 'cause you selfish
Maybe I should be insulting you because you're selfish.


But I want a father so bad, I can't help But break down, I break down Can't help but break down I break down
But I really want a father, so I can't help but cry.


I never thought I'd see my mama on that shit man
I never thought my mom would be on drugs.


It's fuckin' with her body, now she sick damn
It's affecting her health and now she's sick.


I wanted a big house with the white picket fence and a pool
I wanted a big house with a fence and pool.


Who would have ever thought that it would come to this, man?
Who would've thought that things would turn out like this?


Quicksand is what this life feel like
Life feels like quicksand.


That shit these rappers kick is nothin' like real life
What rappers talk about is nothing like real life.


You made a milli off of servin' hard white, yeah right
You made a million dollars selling drugs, yeah right.


My mama tell you what addicted to that pipe feel like
My mom knows what it feels like to be addicted to drugs.


Stupid niggas, I heard the cops be shootin' niggas
The police shoot unarmed Black people.


I swear to God, wish I could bullet proof my niggas
I wish I could protect my friends from police violence.


Can't get no jobs, but they still recruitin' niggas
We can't find jobs but the military wants us.


We tryna stand tall when it gets to crucial niggas
We try to stay strong when things get tough.


He's servin' time, locked down
My friend is in jail.


And she don't want nobody to know, His daughter twenty five pounds
And my friend doesn't want anyone to know that his daughter is sick.


By the time he get out, she gon' be four
By the time he gets out of jail, his daughter will be four years old.


Now will his girl stay down? Ain't no doubt, she love him yeah that's fo sho
Will his girlfriend stick with him? There's no doubt she loves him.


But temptation stays 'round
But there's always temptation.


And if she strayed, how could he ever know?
And if she cheated, how would he ever find out?


Never know and so, she goes to the club on the weekend
He'll never know so she goes out to the club on the weekend.


A little freakin', but them niggas holla
She dances a little and guys hit on her.


But she never speakin', but tonight I see the devil creepin'
She doesn't talk to guys, but tonight she's tempted to give in.


'Cause she been lonely, she ain't felt a man in seven seasons
She's been lonely and hasn't been with a man in a long time.


Damn! She do the best that she can
She's doing the best she can.


Her mama tellin' her to find another man
Her mom wants her to find someone else.


She college educated with a felon boyfriend
She went to college and has a boyfriend who's been to jail.


That's what she thinkin' tonight, Maybe she's right, but please
That's what she's thinking tonight. Maybe she's right, but please...


Stay down mama! Gotta be strong, don't break down mama!
Stay strong, mom! Don't break down!


Please, stay down mama! Gotta be strong, don't break down mama!
Please, mom! Stay strong! Don't break down!


Don't break down, don't break down, don't break down, don't break down
Don't give up. Keep going.




Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Spirit Music Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: FREDERICK WILLIAMS, ROBERT CLIVILLES, DAVID COLE

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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