For What It's Worth – English Lyrics

• By: Jay Rock
• Album: REDEMPTION

Lyrics & Translation

Explore the powerful narrative of Jay Rock’s “For What It’s Worth,” a song that resonates with themes of resilience and difficult choices. Its impactful lyrics and personal storytelling make it an excellent entry point for understanding the nuances of modern hip-hop and the rich, authentic language used to convey deep emotional and moral conflicts. Through Jay Rock's compelling delivery, you can gain insight into street narratives and the complexities of personal redemption, making it a truly special song for language learners interested in contemporary American English and cultural storytelling.

[English]

♪ WORTH IT ♪

♪ MAYBE WHEN YOU GO HOME ♪

♪ I DON'T WANNA BE HERE ♪

♪ TRYNA THINK ABOUT IT ♪

♪ IS IT WORTH IT? ♪

♪ MAYBE WHEN YOU GO HOME ♪

♪ I DON'T WANNA BE HERE ♪

♪ TRYNA THINK ABOUT IT ♪

♪ IS IT? ♪

♪ TRYNA SOLVE MY PROBLEMS OFF THIS FIFTH OF HENNY ♪

♪ HOW MANY FUCKS TO GIVE LATELY I'M RUNNING EMPTY ♪

♪ STRUGGLE WITH WHO I AM AND WHO I WANNA BE ♪

♪ GOT THE STREETS AND THESE BEATS RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME ♪

♪ SHOULD I KILL THIS NIGGA OR SHOULD I LET HIM SLIDE? ♪

♪ IF I DON'T HE DOUBLE BACK WE GOT FAMILY TIES ♪

♪ IF I DO I CAN'T RAP THAT'S SUICIDE ♪

♪ THESE NIGGAS TELLING TURN YOU TO FELONS TWENTY-FIVE ♪

♪ I CAN'T HAVE MY BABIES WALKING AROUND IN PROJECTS ♪

♪ WHILE I'M ON MY BUNK STRESSING THROUGH THE PROCESS ♪

♪ I'D RATHER BE A PROSPECT YOU KNOW GOD-LIKE ♪

♪ BUT FOR NOW MANY TEXTS THIS IS MY LIFE ♪

♪ SHOULD I KILL THIS NIGGA OR SHOULD I LET HIM BY? ♪

♪ MY MOMMA SAY I'M LIKE MY DADDY I GOT TOO MUCH PRIDE ♪

♪ AND SHE WAS RIGHT MIX THIS BOTTLE WITH THE LIME AND SPRITE♪

♪ HIT THE LIGHTS YEAH SOMEBODY GOTTA DIE TONIGHT ♪

♪ IS IT WORTH IT? ♪

♪ MAYBE WHEN YOU GO HOME ♪

♪ I DON'T WANNA BE HERE ♪

♪ TRYNA THINK ABOUT IT ♪

♪ IS IT WORTH IT? ♪

♪ MAYBE WHEN YOU GO HOME ♪

♪ I DON'T WANNA BE HERE ♪

♪ TRYNA THINK ABOUT IT ♪

♪ IS IT? ♪

♪ THEY SAY MONEY'S THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL ♪

♪ I SAY THE POWER OF PUSSY'LL SCAR PEOPLE ♪

♪ THAT PRETTY FLOWER'LL SPOIL YOU THEN IT'LL POISON YOU ♪

♪ YOU GET AMNESIA TO EVERYTHING THAT YOU WAS LOYAL TO ♪

♪ I WANNA FUCK THIS LITTLE BITCH BUT I KNOW SHE BOGUS ♪

♪ CREDIT CARDS PROFILES BANK'S ALWAYS OPEN ♪

♪ AND IF I SMASH DO THE DASH THAT'S HOCUS POCUS ♪

♪ SHE 'BOUT CASH I AIN'T MAD I'M JUST NOT DEVOTED ♪

♪ TO FALL IN LOVE WITH DOING EXOTIC DRUGS ♪

♪ AND PLAYING INSIDE OF CLUBS ♪

♪ I'M NEVER THE ONE TO CUFF ♪

♪ SHE LIKE "JOHNNY YOU KNOW THIS PUSSY YOURS AND ONLY YOURS♪

♪ TAKE THE RUBBER OFF AND SMOKE PASSION YOU COULD EXPLODE" ♪

♪ IS IT WORTH IT? ♪

♪ SHE SEE ME ON TV TELLING THE GIRLS ABOUT ME ♪

♪ AND ALL SHE SAW WAS A BENZ AND THOUGHT THE WORLD ABOUT ME♪

♪ SHE THINK HER NIGGA A LICK AND I GOT RAPPER MONEY ♪

♪ AND CHILD SUPPORT IS THE LEGAL WAY SHE CAN ASK FOR MONEY♪

♪ IS IT WORTH IT? ♪

♪ MAYBE WHEN YOU GO HOME ♪

♪ I DON'T WANNA BE HERE ♪

♪ TRYNA THINK ABOUT IT ♪

♪ IS IT WORTH IT? ♪

♪ MAYBE WHEN YOU GO HOME ♪

♪ I DON'T WANNA BE HERE ♪

♪ TRYNA THINK ABOUT IT ♪

♪ IS IT? ♪

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
home /hoʊm/ A1	noun - the place where one lives
problems /ˈprɒbləmz/ B1	noun - difficulties or questions needing solutions
struggle /ˈstrʌɡəl/ B2	verb - to try hard to overcome difficulty noun - a difficult effort or fight
kill /kɪl/ B1	verb - to cause the death of someone or something
money /ˈmʌni/ A2	noun - currency used to buy goods and services
power /ˈpaʊər/ B2	noun - ability or capacity to do something or control others
love /lʌv/ A1	noun - deep affection or strong feeling of attachment verb - to feel deep affection for someone
life /laɪf/ A1	noun - the existence of an individual or living thing
pride /praɪd/ B2	noun - a feeling of deep satisfaction derived from achievements or qualities
drugs /drʌɡz/ B1	noun - substances used for medical or recreational purposes
project /ˈprɒdʒɛkt/ B1	noun - a planned piece of work intended to achieve a specific goal
family /ˈfæmɪli/ A1	noun - a group of related people, especially parents and children
beat /biːt/ B1	noun - a rhythmic unit in music verb - to strike repeatedly
street /striːt/ A2	noun - a public road in a city or town
rap /ræp/ B2	noun - a style of music with spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics verb - to speak rhythmically in a rap style
suicide /ˈsuːɪˌsaɪd/ C1	noun - the act of intentionally killing oneself
legal /ˈliːɡəl/ B2	adjective - permitted or recognized by law
root /ruːt/ B2	noun - the origin or source of something
evil /ˈiːvəl/ B2	noun - morally bad or wickedness adjective - harmful, immoral, or wicked
pussy /ˈpʊsi/ C1	noun - slang for the female genitalia; also used as a derogatory term for weakness

Key Grammar Structures

• ♪ TRYNA SOLVE MY PROBLEMS OFF THIS FIFTH OF HENNY ♪

  ➔ Gerund and prepositional phrase

  ➔ The gerund "Tryna solving" functions as the main verb, followed by the prepositional phrase "off this fifth of Henny," which modifies the verb.

• ♪ HOW MANY FUCKS TO GIVE LATELY I'M RUNNING EMPTY ♪

  ➔ Interrogative pronoun and present continuous tense

  ➔ "How many" is an interrogative phrase. "I'm running" is the present continuous tense, expressing an ongoing action.

• ♪ SHOULD I KILL THIS NIGGA OR SHOULD I LET HIM SLIDE? ♪

  ➔ Modal verb (should) and Parallelism

  ➔ The modal verb "should" expresses advice or possibility. The sentence structure uses parallelism "kill...or...let" to create balance.

• ♪ IF I DON'T HE DOUBLE BACK WE GOT FAMILY TIES ♪

  ➔ Conditional clause (Type 1) and Compound Sentence

  ➔ "If I don't" introduces a conditional clause (Type 1 - likely to happen). The sentence is a compound sentence, with two independent clauses joined by "we got..."

• ♪ I CAN'T HAVE MY BABIES WALKING AROUND IN PROJECTS ♪

  ➔ Modal verb (can't) and Present participle

  ➔ "Can't" is a modal verb expressing inability. "Walking" is a present participle functioning as an adjective, modifying "babies."

• ♪ I'D RATHER BE A PROSPECT YOU KNOW GOD-LIKE ♪

  ➔ Auxiliary verb and Adjective

  ➔ "I'd" is the contracted form of "I would," an auxiliary verb. "God-like" is an adjective.

• ♪ THEY SAY MONEY'S THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL ♪

  ➔ Reported Speech and Possessive

  ➔ The phrase "They say" introduces reported speech (what others say). "Money's" is a contraction of "money is", and is a subject of the sentence and is the root.

• ♪ I SAY THE POWER OF PUSSY'LL SCAR PEOPLE ♪

  ➔ Subject and Pronoun

  ➔ "I" is the subject of the sentence. The "Pussy'll" is contraction of "Pussy will", the subject and direct object, and will scar the People.

• ♪ YOU GET AMNESIA TO EVERYTHING THAT YOU WAS LOYAL TO ♪

  ➔ Passive voice and Relative Clause

  ➔ "You get amnesia" is a passive construction (though without a verb). "That you was loyal to" is a relative clause modifying "everything."