When You Were Young

Last day of the rest of my life

I wish I would've known 'cause I didn't kiss my mama goodbye

I didn't tell her that I loved her, how much I cared

Or thank my pops for all the talks and all the wisdom he shared

Unaware, I just did what I always do

Every day, the same routine before I skate off to school

But who knew that this day wasn't like the rest?

Instead of taking a test, I took two to the chest

Call me blind, but I didn't see it coming

Everybody was running, but I couldn't hear nothing

Except gun blasts, it happened so fast

I didn't really know this kid, though I sit by him in class

Maybe this kid was reaching out for love

Or maybe for a moment, he forgot who he was

Or maybe this kid just wanted to be hugged

Whatever it was, I know it's because

We are, we are (we are)

The youth of the nation

We are, we are (we are)

Youth of the nation

We are, we are (we are)

The youth of the nation

We are, we are (we are)

Youth of the nation

Little Suzy, she was only 12

She was given the world with every chance to excel

Hang with the boys and hear the stories they tell

She might act kind of proud but no respect for herself

She finds love in all the wrong places

The same situations, just different faces

Changed up her pace since her daddy left her

Too bad he never told her she deserved much better

Johnny boy always played the fool

He broke all the rules so you would think he was cool

He was never really one of the guys

No matter how hard he tried, often thought of suicide

It's kind of hard when you ain't got no friends

He put his life to an end, they might remember him then

You cross the line and there's no turning back

Told the world how he felt with the sound of a gat

We are, we are (we are)

The youth of the nation

We are, we are (we are)

Youth of the nation

We are, we are (we are)

The youth of the nation

We are, we are (we are)

Youth of the nation

Who's to blame for the lives that tragedies claim?

No matter what you say, it don't take away the pain

That I feel inside, I'm tired of all the lies

Don't nobody know why, it's the blind leading the blind

Guess that's the way that the story goes

Will it ever make sense? Somebody's got to know

There's got to be more to life than this

There's got to be more to everything I thought exists

We are, we are

The youth of the nation

We are, we are

Youth of the nation

We are, we are (we are, we are)

The youth of the nation

We are, we are (we are, we are)

Youth of the nation

We are, we are (we are, we are)

The youth of the nation (the youth of the nation)

We are, we are (we are, we are)

Youth of the nation (youth of the nation)

We are, we are (we are, we are)

The youth of the nation (the youth of the nation)

We are, we are (we are, we are)

Youth of the nation (youth of the nation)

(We are) youth of the nation

(We are) youth of the nation

(We are) youth of the nation

We are