I Tried – English Lyrics

• By: Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Akon

Lyrics & Translation

Discover the powerful storytelling of Bone Thugs-n-Harmony and Akon in their hit song “I Tried.” This track offers a unique opportunity to learn English through its clear and emotional lyrics, which explore universal themes of struggle and hope. The blend of rapid-fire rap and soulful R&B provides a dynamic and engaging way to improve your language skills while connecting with a story that resonates with many.

[English]

(SOFT MUSIC)

♪ BONE THUGS, AKON ♪

♪ YEAH ♪

♪♪♪

♪ YOU KNOW, DON'T NOTHING COME EASY ♪

♪ YOU GOTTA TRY REAL, REAL HARD ♪

♪ I'VE TRIED HARD ♪

♪ BUT I GUESS I GOTTA TRY HARDER ♪

♪ I TRIED SO HARD ♪

♪ CAN'T SEEM TO GET AWAY FROM MISERY ♪

♪ MAN, I TRIED SO HARD ♪

♪ WILL ALWAYS BE A VICTIM OF THESE STREETS ♪

♪ IT AIN'T MY FAULT 'CAUSE I ♪

♪ TRY TO GET AWAY BUT TROUBLE FOLLOWS ME ♪

♪ AND STILL I TRY SO HARD ♪

♪ HOPING ONE DAY YOU'LL COME AND RESCUE ME ♪

♪ (BUT UNTIL THEN) ♪

♪ I'LL BE POSTED UP RIGHT HERE ♪

♪ RAIN, SLEET, HAIL, SNOW ♪

♪ (BUT UNTIL THEN) ♪

♪ I'LL BE POSTED UP RIGHT HERE WITH MY HEAT, GETTING DOUGH ♪

♪ FIRST LET ME EXPLAIN THAT I'M JUST A BLACK MAN ♪

♪ AND I COME FROM THE DARK SIDE ♪

♪ SO I'M HAVING A HARD TIME STAYING ON TRACK, MAN ♪

♪ MY MIND BE RACING ♪

♪ AND I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT I'M CHASING YET ♪

♪ BEEN IN AND OUT OF RELATIONSHIPS ♪

♪ SO I'M STARTING TO SEE ♪

♪ THAT IT'S ME WHERE THE COMPLICATIONS AT ♪

♪ BUT I'M LAYING BACK, PRAYING THAT ♪

♪ YOU GIVE THAT PEACE OF MIND TO ME ♪

♪ I THOUGHT I WAS RIGHT, BUT REALLY I'M WRONG ♪

♪ THEN AGAIN, I WAS TOO BLIND TO SEE ♪

♪ I WAS IN THE FAST LANE, CHASING MY DREAMS ♪

♪ AND THEN IT SEEM WHEN THE FAME AND CASH CAME ♪

♪ THEY JUST GOT ME GOING CRAZY ♪

♪ LATELY, I'VE BEEN SO FADED TRYING TO ERASE IT ♪

♪ BUT I JUST CAN'T 'CAUSE THE DRAMA JUST GROWS GREATER ♪

♪ AND I'VE BEEN IN SO MANY COLLISIONS ♪

♪ BY PUTTING (CENSORED) OFF 'TIL LATER ♪

♪ (BUT UNTIL THEN) ♪

♪ CAN'T SEEM TO GET AWAY FROM MISERY ♪

♪ MAN, I TRIED SO HARD ♪

♪ WILL ALWAYS BE A VICTIM OF THESE STREETS ♪

♪ IT AIN'T MY FAULT 'CAUSE I ♪

♪ TRY TO GET AWAY BUT TROUBLE FOLLOWS ME ♪

♪ AND STILL I TRY SO HARD ♪

♪ HOPING ONE DAY YOU'LL COME AND RESCUE ME ♪

♪ (BUT UNTIL THEN) ♪

♪ I'LL BE POSTED UP RIGHT HERE ♪

♪ RAIN, SLEET, HAIL, SNOW ♪

♪ (BUT UNTIL THEN) ♪

♪ I'LL BE POSTED UP RIGHT HERE WITH MY HEAT, GETTING DOUGH ♪

♪ IT'S LIKE I'M TAKIN' FIVE STEPS FORWARD AND 10 STEPS BACK ♪

♪ TRYING TO GET AHEAD OF THE GAME ♪

♪ BUT I CAN'T SEEM TO GET IT ON TRACK ♪

♪ AND I KEEP RUNNING AWAY THE ONES ♪

♪ THAT SAY THEY LOVE ME THE MOST ♪

♪ HOW COULD I CREATE THE DISTANCE ♪

♪ WHEN IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE CLOSE ♪

♪ AND UH, I JUST DON'T KNOW ♪

♪ BUT I BE OUT HERE FIGHTING DEMONS ♪

♪ AND IT'S LIKE A CURSE ♪

♪ THAT I CAN'T SHAKE THIS PART OF CLEVELAND ♪

♪ AND LORD, WOULD YOU HELP ME ♪

♪ AND STOP THIS PAIN I KEEP INFLICTING ON MY FAMILY ♪

♪ HUSTLING AND GAMBLING, TRICKING AND SCRAMBLING ♪

♪ AND LOSING SIGHT OF WHAT I'M SUPPOSED TO BE HANDLING ♪

♪ IT'S HARD TO MANAGE 'CAUSE EVERYDAY'S A CHALLENGE ♪

♪ AND MAN, I'M SLIPPING, CAN'T LOSE MY BALANCE ♪

♪ I'M TRYING NOT TO PANIC ♪

♪ I TRIED SO HARD ♪

♪ CAN'T SEEM TO GET AWAY FROM MISERY ♪

♪ MAN, I TRIED SO HARD ♪

♪ WILL ALWAYS BE A VICTIM OF THESE STREETS ♪

♪ IT AIN'T MY FAULT 'CAUSE I ♪

♪ TRY TO GET AWAY BUT TROUBLE FOLLOWS ME ♪

♪ AND STILL I TRY SO HARD ♪

♪ HOPING ONE DAY YOU'LL COME AND RESCUE ME ♪

♪ (BUT UNTIL THEN) ♪

♪ I'LL BE POSTED UP RIGHT HERE ♪

♪ RAIN, SLEET, HAIL, SNOW ♪

♪ (BUT UNTIL THEN) ♪

♪ I'LL BE POSTED UP RIGHT HERE WITH MY HEAT, GETTING DOUGH ♪

♪ I SEE THAT THINGS WON'T CHANGE ♪

♪ I'M STUCK IN THE GAME ♪

♪ AS SOON AS I GET OUT, IT KEEPS PULLING ME BACK, MAN ♪

♪ GOT ME DOING DIRTY DIRT ♪

♪ SO USED TO THIS HUSTLING MONEY ♪

♪ THAT I DON'T UNDERSTAND NO 9-TO-5 WORK ♪

♪ STUDIED ON THE STREETS, HUSTLAS KNOW WHAT I MEAN ♪

♪ HUSTLAS BALLING BEFORE US ♪

♪ I'M TRYING TO MAKE IT TO THAT MAJOR LEAGUE ♪

♪ SO WE WILL NEVER LEAVE, NEVER, UNTIL THE SUN CAME UP ♪

♪ GOTTA GET IT, NO, NOPE, NOT LEAVING, NO BUDGE ♪

♪ TODAY GAMES THEY PLAY ♪

♪ GOTTA GO HARD TO GET WHAT YOU PUT IN ♪

♪ IF YOU FALL OFF, THEN IT'S ALL ON YOU, ON YOU ♪

♪ GOTTA WATCH WHAT YOU SIGN TO ♪

♪ TRY SO HARD BUT I WON'T PULL THROUGH ♪

♪ I TRIED SO HARD ♪

♪ CAN'T SEEM TO GET AWAY FROM MISERY ♪

♪ MAN, I TRIED SO HARD ♪

♪ WILL ALWAYS BE A VICTIM OF THESE STREETS ♪

♪ IT AIN'T MY FAULT 'CAUSE I ♪

♪ TRY TO GET AWAY BUT TROUBLE FOLLOWS ME ♪

♪ AND STILL I TRY SO HARD ♪

♪ HOPING ONE DAY YOU'LL COME AND RESCUE ME ♪

♪ (BUT UNTIL THEN) ♪

♪ I'LL BE POSTED UP RIGHT HERE ♪

♪ RAIN, SLEET, HAIL, SNOW ♪

♪ (BUT UNTIL THEN) ♪

♪ I'LL BE POSTED UP RIGHT HERE WITH MY HEAT ♪

♪ GETTING DOUGH, GETTING DOUGH ♪

(MUSIC CONTINUES)

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
try /traɪ/ A1	verb - to make an attempt or effort to do something noun - an attempt or effort
hard /hɑːrd/ A2	adjective - requiring or involving a great deal of effort or endurance adverb - with a great deal of effort or intensity
misery /ˈmɪzəri/ B1	noun - a state or feeling of great distress or discomfort of mind or body
victim /ˈvɪktɪm/ B1	noun - a person harmed, injured, or killed as a result of a crime, accident, or other event or action.
trouble /ˈtrʌbəl/ B1	noun - difficulties or problems
follow /ˈfɒləʊ/ A2	verb - to come or go after or behind someone or something
streets /striːts/ A1	noun - a public road in a city or town, typically with houses and buildings on one or both sides
rescue /ˈreskjuː/ B1	verb - save (someone) from a dangerous or difficult situation. noun - an act of saving or being saved from danger or difficulty.
heat /hiːt/ A2	noun - the quality of being hot; high temperature
dough /dəʊ/ B1	noun - money
mind /maɪnd/ A2	noun - the element of a person that enables them to be aware of the world and their experiences, to think, and to feel; the faculty of consciousness and thought.
dreams /driːmz/ A2	noun - a cherished aspiration, ambition, or ideal.
crazy /ˈkreɪzi/ B1	adjective - mentally ill; insane.
pain /peɪn/ A2	noun - physical suffering or discomfort caused by illness or injury.
family /ˈfæməli/ A1	noun - a group consisting of parents and children living together in a household.
challenge /ˈtʃælɪndʒ/ B1	noun - a call to someone to participate in a competitive situation or contest. verb - dispute the truth or validity of (a statement or action).
demons /ˈdiːmənz/ B2	noun - an evil spirit or devil, especially one thought to possess a person.

Key Grammar Structures

• CAN'T SEEM TO GET AWAY FROM MISERY

  ➔ "Can't seem to" + Infinitive

  ➔ The phrase "can't seem to" indicates an inability or difficulty in doing something, despite trying. Here, it means the speaker is unable to escape "misery".

• HOPING ONE DAY YOU'LL COME AND RESCUE ME

  ➔ Participle Clause (Present Participle)

  ➔ "Hoping" is a present participle used to express the reason or a simultaneous action to the main clause (implied 'I try so hard'). It functions as an adverbial clause, meaning 'while I am hoping' or 'because I hope'.

• I'LL BE POSTED UP RIGHT HERE

  ➔ Future Continuous + Phrasal Verb

  ➔ "I'll be posted up" uses the future continuous tense to describe an action that will be ongoing in the future. "Posted up" is a phrasal verb meaning to be stationed or positioned in a place, often for a period of time.

• FIRST LET ME EXPLAIN THAT I'M JUST A BLACK MAN

  ➔ Causative Verb "let" + Noun Clause

  ➔ "Let me explain" uses the causative verb "let" followed by an object and a bare infinitive, meaning 'allow me to explain'. The phrase "that I'm just a black man" is a noun clause acting as the object of the verb "explain".

• SO I'M HAVING A HARD TIME STAYING ON TRACK, MAN

  ➔ "Have a hard time" + Gerund

  ➔ The idiom "having a hard time" followed by a gerund ("staying") expresses that someone is experiencing difficulty with a particular action or situation.

• THEY JUST GOT ME GOING CRAZY

  ➔ Causative Verb "get" (get + object + present participle)

  ➔ The causative structure "get + object + present participle" means to cause someone to start doing something or to be in a certain state. Here, "got me going crazy" means they caused the speaker to become crazy.

• I'VE BEEN IN SO MANY COLLISIONS BY PUTTING (CENSORED) OFF 'TIL LATER

  ➔ Gerund after Preposition + Phrasal Verb

  ➔ The gerund "putting" is used after the preposition "by" to indicate the method or cause of the collisions. "Putting off" is a phrasal verb meaning to postpone or delay something.

• HOW COULD I CREATE THE DISTANCE WHEN IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE CLOSE

  ➔ Modal Verb "could" (for rhetorical question) + "be supposed to"

  ➔ "How could I create" uses the modal verb "could" in a rhetorical question, expressing impossibility or a sense of paradox. "It's supposed to be close" uses "be supposed to" to indicate an expectation or obligation that is not being met.

• AND STOP THIS PAIN I KEEP INFLICTING ON MY FAMILY

  ➔ "Keep" + Gerund + Reduced Relative Clause

  ➔ "I keep inflicting" uses "keep" followed by a gerund to indicate a repeated or continuous action. "Pain I keep inflicting" is a reduced relative clause, where 'that' or 'which' is omitted: 'pain (that/which) I keep inflicting'.

• IF YOU FALL OFF, THEN IT'S ALL ON YOU, ON YOU

  ➔ First Conditional + Idiomatic Expression

  ➔ This is a first conditional sentence ('If' + present simple, 'then' + present simple/future). "Fall off" means to fail or stop being successful. "It's all on you" is an idiom meaning 'it's entirely your responsibility'.

• GOTTA GET IT, NO, NOPE, NOT LEAVING, NO BUDGE

  ➔ Colloquial "Gotta" (got to) + Ellipsis

  ➔ "Gotta" is a colloquial contraction of "got to," expressing obligation or necessity. The phrase uses ellipsis, omitting subjects and verbs (e.g., 'I am not leaving,' 'I will not budge') for a more direct and emphatic tone.