What Would You Do? | City High Lyrics, Meaning & Videos

What Would You Do?
City High Lyrics

What would you do if your son was at home
Cryin' all alone on the bedroom floor, 'cause he's hungry?
And the only way to feed him is to sleep with a man
For a little bit of money, and his daddy's gone
Somewhere smokin' rock now, in and out of lock down
I ain't gotta job now, so for you this is just a good time
But for me this is what I call life, mm

Girl, you ain't the only one with a baby
That's no excuse to be livin' all crazy
Then she looked me right square in the eye
And said, "Every day I wake up hopin' to die"
She said, "Nigga, I know about pain 'cause
Me and my sister ran away, so my daddy
Couldn't rape us, before I was a teenager
I done been through more shit, you can't even relate to"

What would you do if your son was at home (oh)
Cryin' all alone on the bedroom floor, 'cause he's hungry? (Woah-woah)
And the only way to feed him is to sleep with a man
For a little bit of money, and his daddy's gone (yeah, woah, yeah)
Somewhere smokin' rock now, in and out of lock down
I ain't gotta job now, so for you this is just a good time (oh-oh, oh-woah)
But for me this is what I call life, mm (yeah)

Yo, wait, hold up, hold up
Hold up, hold up, stop the record
Yo, stop the record
Yo shorty, you ain't gonna be goin' out like this man

Hold up
(What would you do?)
Get up on my feet and let go of every excuse
(What would you do?)
'Cause I wouldn't want my baby, to go through what I went through
(Come on, what would you do?)
Get up on my feet, stop makin' tired excuses
(What would you do?)
Girl, I know if my mother can do it, baby, you can do it

What would you do if your son was at home
Cryin' all alone on the bedroom floor, 'cause he's hungry? (Cryin' all alone, yeah)
And the only way to feed him is to sleep with a man (only way to feed him)
For a little bit of money, and his daddy's gone (no)
Somewhere smokin' rock now, in and out of lock down (yeah)
I ain't gotta job now, so for you this is just a good time (yeah)
But for me this is what I call life, mm (oh, no no no)

What would you do if your son was at home (no, no, no, no, no)
Cryin' all alone on the bedroom floor, 'cause he's hungry?
And the only way to feed him is to sleep with a man
For a little bit of money, and his daddy's gone
Somewhere smokin' rock now, in and out of lock down
I ain't gotta job now, so for you this is just a good time
But for me this is what I call life (come on)

What would you do if your son was at home
Cryin' all alone on the bedroom floor, 'cause he's hungry?
And the only way to feed him is to sleep with a man
For a little bit of money, and his daddy's gone
Somewhere smokin' rock now, in and out of lock down

I ain't gotta job now, so for you this is just a good time
But for me this is what I call life, mm

The song "What Would You Do?" by City High reveals the harsh reality of many women who have to turn to stripping, prostitution, or worse, to provide for their children. The lyrics narrate a conversation between City High member, Robbie Pardlo aka Robbie Nova, and a former classmate, Loni. At a party, Robbie recognizes Loni from junior high and takes her outside for a chat. He questions why she's stripping for money, and she tells him about her struggles as a single mother with no job, no partner, and a baby to feed. She reveals the difficult choices that she has to make, which include sleeping with men for money.

The chorus of the song repeats the question, "What would you do if your son was at home, crying all alone on the bedroom floor, 'cause he's hungry?" This question challenges listeners to put themselves in Loni's situation and consider what choices they would make. The song exposes not just Loni's struggles but highlights the overall socio-economic conditions that lead women to turn to sex work to make ends meet.

Overall, the song is about empathy, compassion, and understanding for those who have to make tough choices to survive. It encourages listeners to question their own judgments and biases towards sex workers and offers a rare opportunity to view the world from their perspective.

Boys and girls wanna hear a true story?
Do you want to hear a story that is based on true events?

Saturday night was at this real wild party
One Saturday night, I went to a crazy party.

They had the liquor overflowin' the cup
There was a lot of alcohol at the party.

About five or six strippers tryin' to work for a buck
There were five or six dancers trying to make some money by performing.

Then I took one girl outside with me
I brought one of the dancers outside with me.

Her name was Loni, she went to Junior High with me
Her name was Loni, and we used to go to Junior High together.

I said, 'Why you up in there dancin' for cash?
I asked her why she was dancing for money inside.

I guess a whole lots changed since I seen you last'
I realized that a lot has changed for her since the last time I saw her.

What would you do if your son was at home
If you had a son who was at home...

Cryin' all alone on the bedroom floor, 'cause he's hungry?
...crying alone in his room because he's hungry...

And the only way to feed him is to sleep with a man
...and the only way you could feed him is by having sex with someone for money...

For a little bit of money, and his daddy's gone
...because his father is gone and not providing for his child.

Somewhere smokin' rock now, in and out of lock down
His father is currently doing drugs and going in and out of jail.

I ain't gotta job now, so for you this is just a good time
I don't have a job, so for you, this party is just for fun.

But for me this is what I call life, mm
But for me, this partying and dancing for money is what my life has become.

Girl, you ain't the only one with a baby
You're not the only one who has a child to take care of.

That's no excuse to be livin' all crazy
But having a child is not an excuse to live recklessly.

Then she looked me right square in the eye
Then she made direct eye contact with me.

And said, 'Every day I wake up hopin' to die'
She confessed that every day, she wakes up wishing she were dead.

She said, 'N***a, I know about pain
She said, 'I know what pain feels like...

Me and my sister ran away, so my daddy
...because my sister and I ran away from home to escape our abusive father.

Couldn't rape us, before I was a teenager
...who used to rape us before I was even a teenager.

I done been through more s***, you can't even relate to'
I've been through more awful things than you could possibly imagine.'

Yo, wait, hold up, hold up
Wait a minute, stop for a second.

Hold up, hold up, stop the record
Pause the music for a moment.

Yo shorty, you ain't gonna be goin' out like this man
Hey, young lady, you can't keep living like this.

(What would you do?)
(What would you do in my situation?)

Get up on my feet and let go of every excuse
I need to stand up and stop making excuses for myself.

'Cause I wouldn't want my baby, to go through what I went through
I don't want my child to endure the same hardships that I did.

(Come on, what would you do?)
(Seriously, what would you do in my position?)

Get up on my feet, stop makin' tired excuses
I need to motivate myself and stop making weak excuses.

Girl, I know if my mother can do it, baby, you can do it
If my mother could succeed, then so can you.

No, no, no, no, no
No, this is unacceptable.

Cryin' all alone on the bedroom floor, 'cause he's hungry?
A child shouldn't have to cry alone in hunger on a bedroom floor.

But for me this is what I call life
This is what my life has become.

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Royalty Network, Sentric Music, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Calvin Broadus, Delmer Drew Arnaud, Dwight Williams, Jewell Caples, Ricardo Brown, Keith Blair, Paul Crossdale

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

ncG1vNJzZmirn6O2pLTIrapnm5%2BifLe1w56maHuZqcaglMign2iPmJbBoKPOrqOdl4mkwqCQzl5qfw%3D%3D