Power
Royce Da 5′9″ Lyrics

You want what for Christmas?
What do you want as a gift for Christmas?

Hell no
Absolutely not

What chu mean this is all we got?
What do you mean this is the only thing we have?

That's it
That's all we have

It's Christmas time in the Montgomery home
It is the holiday season in the Montgomery household

Daddy's actin' all crazy again
My father is behaving irrationally

Momma got herself a bloody nose
My mother has a nosebleed

Daddy slapped her in the face again
My father hit her in the face once more

Why they always gotta fight so much?
Why do they have to argue and fight frequently?

Damn, momma face swole
Wow, my mother's face is swollen

Me and my bros in a panic state
My brothers and I are in a state of panic

If that's the case, yo I can't just stay around this
If that's the situation, I cannot continue to be present in this environment

Everything was fine, we just had dinner
Everything seemed okay, we had just finished dinner

We got all the He-Mans
We received all the He-Man toys

Battle Cat, Adam and Cringer, even Castle Greyskull and Snake Mountain
Including Battle Cat, Adam, Cringer, and even Castle Greyskull and Snake Mountain toys

Now we sit and listen to y'all argue about how y'all planned this day
Now we are sitting and listening to you argue about how you had planned this day

And y'all just admitted to us Santa fake
And you just confessed to us that Santa Claus is not real

So Kid Vishis just ran away poutin'
So my brother Kid Vishis ran away upset

Now I gotta go and console him
Now I have to go and comfort him

He wasn't nothin' but a spoiled little boy then
He was just a spoiled little boy at that time

Little naive with an innocent cry
Innocent and naive, with a cry of distress

All he ever wanted to do was fit in with us
All he wanted was to belong and be accepted by us

And y'all bought him a pair of fake Timberlands
And you bought him a pair of counterfeit Timberland boots

And put in a real Timberland box
And placed them in an authentic Timberland shoebox

I never forget them boots, they was called Rugged Outbacks
I will always remember those boots, they were called Rugged Outbacks

Momma went and found them at Payless and made us promise not to say nothin'
Mom went to Payless and bought them, making us promise not to say anything

Then Pop came in like he ain't know nothin' about it
Then Dad acted as if he had no knowledge of it

Like, 'Judy you gon' send that boy out in public like that?'
Saying, 'Judy, are you really going to let that boy go out in public wearing those?'

'He'll be just fine, these kids ain't 'bout to be
'He'll be fine, these children won't be'

Looking down at his feet for no treat'
Looking at his feet expecting something special'

And she really meant that
And she truly believed that

Meanwhile, this little arrogant nigga called himself stuntin' on me
Meanwhile, this conceited kid thought he was showing off in comparison to me

And Greg with him talkin' about, 'where your Timbs at?'
And Greg was also teasing him, saying 'where are your Timberlands?'

But he was too young to detect sarcasm so we was like
But he was too young to understand sarcasm, so we responded

'Nigga, where your Timbs at?'
'Dude, where are your Timberlands?'

It's Thanksgiving in the Montgomery home
It is Thanksgiving in the Montgomery household

Greg just came in here drunk again
Greg entered the house intoxicated once more

Now Momma tryna' cover for him, she afraid my Daddy gone punch him again
Now Mom is trying to protect him, as she is afraid Dad will hit him again

Why you gotta get drunk so much? Damn!
Why do you have to get drunk so frequently? Damn!

I wish you would just stay where you was at instead of
I wish you would stay where you were instead of

Coming home all rude and disrespectin' our father
Returning home with a rude and disrespectful attitude towards our father

Follow all the rules and shit, man
Just follow the rules, man

The mood done switched me and Vicious playing Connect Four
The atmosphere changed, my brother Vicious and I started playing Connect Four

Our Favorite movie just came on the tube and it's ironic it's Bloodsport
Our favorite movie is playing on the television, and it's ironic that it's Bloodsport

And I'm looking at Frank Dux and shit, thinkin' you should split
I'm watching Frank Dux in the movie and thinking you should leave

Before Daddy come down these stairs of this basement and see you wasted
Before Dad comes down the basement stairs and sees you drunk

But he just cut me off like, 'That nigga ain't gon' do shit'
But he interrupts me and says, 'That guy won't do anything'

But the truth is he couldn't whoop my dad even if he was sober
But the truth is, even if he was sober, he couldn't defeat my father

I know 'cause he tried once
I know because he attempted to fight my dad once

Ended up unconscious, a broke arm and a tooth was chipped
He ended up unconscious with a broken arm and a chipped tooth

My big bro got a lot of emotional problems
My older brother has many emotional issues

He feel that we was all abused as kids
He believes that we were all mistreated as children

He saw Momma get dragged down all kinds of stairs like a ragdoll when he was two
He witnessed Mom being pulled down various sets of stairs like a ragdoll when he was just two years old

And this is back when Daddy used to sniff cocaine, poor thang
This happened when Dad used to snort cocaine, poor thing

He had to be subjected to this when he gets drunk
He had to endure this when Dad gets drunk

He gets to losing it
Dad loses control

He gets the illusion that he gon' protect us all from the Big Bad Wolf
He has the delusion that he will protect us all from harm

Stand up to him and prove some shit
Confront him and prove himself

But all he really doing is stressing Mom out
But all he is truly doing is causing Mom stress

Gotta her goin', 'boy you know your daddy up there asleep
Making her say, 'Boy, you know your father is upstairs sleeping

The food is ready, why don't you stop making all this noise and let him stay sleep?'
The food is ready, why don't you stop making noise and let him continue to sleep?'

The Turkey's done in the Montgomery home
The turkey is cooked in the Montgomery household

Dad has just been awakened again
Dad has just woken up

Greg is making all kinds of noise
Greg is causing a ruckus

Daddy's on his way angry again
Dad is coming angrily

'Who is that making all that God damn noise?
'Who is that making all that damn noise?'

Greggy, get up here!
Gregory, come upstairs!

You been out there drinking again?
Have you been out there drinking again?

What the fuck I tell you about coming in my house with this disrespectful shit?
What did I tell you about entering my house with this disrespectful behavior?

Nigga where the fuck you don' been?
Where the fuck have you been?

I'm thinking to myself Greg please don't say nothin' stupid, man
I'm thinking to myself, Greg, please don't say anything foolish, man

Every time my Daddy in his drawers and he standing in the hallway
Whenever my dad is in his underwear and standing in the hallway

Mad at somebody, I swear to God he got the same strength as Superman
Mad at someone, I swear he possesses the strength of Superman

My brother turned around and just walks in the kitchen
My brother turned around and simply walks into the kitchen

Without even givin' an answer
Without even providing a response

With his back to him like 'I ain't gotta talk to you nigga'
Facing away from him, as if saying 'I don't have to speak to you'

'Nigga, you don't hear me talking to you?'
'Dude, don't you hear me talking to you?'

Next thing my brother did is something that when it comes
Then my brother did something that, when it comes to my dad

To my father is something you just don't do
Is something you simply should not do

He looked him right in his eyes and he asked him
He looked directly into his eyes and asked him

'What the fuck is you gon' do?'
'What the fuck are you going to do?'

My father hit him so hard his body hit the stove
My father hit him with such force that his body collided with the stove

The oven door hit the fucking floor
The oven door crashed onto the floor

The turkey fell out the oven whole and landed near the stairs
The turkey fell out of the oven in one piece and landed near the stairs

Now Daddy standing over Greg talkin' 'bout, 'Nigga, you ain't hurt!
Now Dad is standing over Greg saying, 'Dude, you're not hurt!

Get up, get up!'
Get up, get up!'

And here come Vish' talkin' 'bout, 'Dad, I don't think he gon' get up'
And then Vish' says, 'Dad, I don't think he's going to get up'

Then Momma went damn near hysterical
Then Mom nearly went into a state of hysteria

She called the police, the police came
She called the police, and they arrived

Neighbors is all in the street watching the cops takin' my father out in handcuffs
Neighbors are all outside, witnessing the police escorting my father out in handcuffs

Damn, man that shit was real embarassing
Damn, man, that situation was truly embarrassing

To all my friends I grew up with or grew up fatherless
To all my friends who either grew up with absent fathers or without fathers

I know through me you live vicariously
I know that you live vicariously through my experiences

I want you to know that we ain't know better than you and yours
I want you to know that we are not superior to you and your families

We all needed therapy
We all needed professional help

We care about each other more than we care about if anybody understands us
We value each other more than we care about being understood by others

What I'm tryin' say is 'fuck you!' and Happy Holidays from the Montgomery family
What I'm trying to say is 'fuck you!' and Happy Holidays from the Montgomery family

Every man reaches that point in life
Every man reaches a certain point in their life

Where he don't want to make excuses no more
Where he no longer wants to make excuses

Life took me on a rollercoaster ride
Life has taken me on a turbulent journey

I've been up I've been down all the ribbons and my daddy came
I have experienced both highs and lows, with my father being present

Took me on highs
He took me to moments of extreme happiness

Turned around and then took me on lows
Then turned around and led me to moments of extreme sadness

Oh
Oh

Then I think about it
Then I reflect on it

I use that shit as fuel
I use those experiences as motivation

Then I changed it into 'power'
Then I transformed it into 'power'

Now can't you feel it?
Now can't you sense it?

Can't you feel it?
Can't you feel it?

That I'm a grown man with 'power'
That I am a mature man with 'power'

Yeah, let me hear you say yeah
Yes, let me hear you say yeah

If you was raised in a strict home like me
If you were raised in a strict household like mine

Felt alone like me and it gave you 'power'
Felt isolated like me, and it empowered you

Ooh
Ooh

You can do it too just look at me
You can do it too, just look at me

See I'm a grown man with 'power'
See, I am a mature man with 'power'

Yeah, everybody say yeah
Yes, everybody say yeah

If you don't know the meaning of abusive
If you are unaware of the meaning of abuse

You've been through so much ain't nothing nobody can do to you
You have been through so much that there is nothing anyone can do to you

Now can't you feel it?
Now can't you sense it?

I'mma run away
I am going to run away

This is how I became
This is how I ended up

A grown man with 'power'
A mature man with 'power'

You can do it too
You can do it too

If I can do it
If I can do it

Use this 'power'
Utilize this 'power'

I was a runaway
I was a runaway

I was a runaway
I was a runaway

There ain't nothing you can do to me
There is nothing you can do to me

Do to me
To me

'When you were a child growing up with grandad and granny
'When you were a child growing up with your grandparents

Did you really feel like grandad was a good father to you?'
Did you truly believe that your grandfather was a good father figure to you?

Absolutely, absolutely, all my friend's daddy's was walking out
Absolutely, all my friends' fathers were abandoning them

On them left and right, you know he never left us, he was always there for us
Leaving them one by one, but he never left us, he was always present for us

You know there were a lot of things that happened that I didn't understand
There were many things that occurred which I didn't comprehend

Maybe I might not have answered the question the same way when I was a teenager
Perhaps my response would have been different when I was a teenager

But I understand and appreciate him so much more now
But now I understand and value him much more

As a man, you know 'cause he taught me respect
As a grown man, he taught me about respect

And discipline and consequences for your acts
And discipline, as well as the consequences for one's actions

So yeah of course
So yes, of course

'Do you think his approach as a father really shaped
'Do you think his parenting style truly influenced

The type of father that you are today, or do you in some ways
The kind of father you have become today, or do you, in some aspects

Think it had negatives to it, and if so, what kind of negative traits
Believe it had negative aspects, and if so, what kind of negative characteristics

Do you try to avoid having as a father right now, to me?'
Do you try to avoid possessing as a father now, in my opinion?'

When you have your own you'll understand
When you have children of your own, you will comprehend