Legendary – English Lyrics

• By: Tyrese, CeeLo Green

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the powerful message of "Legendary" by Tyrese and CeeLo Green, a song that transcends entertainment to become a vital protest anthem. Through its poignant lyrics and emotional delivery, you can explore expressions of pain, resilience, and the urgent call for justice in English. This song is special for its raw honesty and its commitment to social change, offering a unique opportunity to connect with contemporary issues through music.

[English]

I'm laying here in this street.

Screaming out.

Won't you help me?

Mama, help me.

I had plans tonight

to have dinner with my baby girl,

who's at home waiting on a daddy.

Life is the cause to protect the world so cold.

You can take my body,

but you can't kill my soul of a man.

Lives on beyond this world,

beyond this world.

And the heart of a king stays alive

with a story to tell.

Oh, I can't breathe.

No way, this is love.

And now the world's screaming, 'No justice!

No justice!'

If I die tomorrow,

you can take my breath away.

Oh, I still be legendary.

If I die tomorrow,

you can take my breath away.

Oh, I still be legendary.

Tell your mama gotta call the cops, another nigga getting shot.

What if a rapper killed a hip hop cop?

What's your political stance when you got no stance?

And all you do is song and dance.

Black lives will never matter 'til they matter to us.

In God we can't trust with no God in us.

They say pray harder, but then killers with dirty water.

A sad story, hate to explain to my own daughters.

Stand strong, the politics is just is dead wrong.

I'm black and I'm proud, just in case you ran wrong.

Relentless, sent this right where I penned this.

The emphasis is you could tell that I meant this.

In Memphis, kids don't have nothing for breakfast.

And the one they picked for president, a prick from apprentice.

You crazy? Can't you see they trying to kill us off?

In the streets to the corner, gonna peel us off.

I no longer want to ask why.

I can still see Trayvon's mom's cry.

And if it ever comes down to that time,

just remember the last words of Black.

If I die tomorrow,

you can take my breath away.

Oh, I still be legendary.

If I die tomorrow,

you can take my breath away.

Oh, I still be legendary.

If I die tomorrow,

oh, I still be legendary.

Coming to you live in the back of a dirty squad car,

trying to get me to tell where all the Black stars are.

I said, 'Cop look around, we surround y'all.

Everybody magical, even grandma charm y'all.'

Don't you see that's why they hate our cuts?

Don't you see that's why they spray us up?

Don't you see if we just raise up like one, two, three, a hundred million plus?

Everybody ready, the crowd is moving in unison.

See it in their eyes, their minds that I'm influencing.

Governor is nervous, emergency service unison.

Helicopters watching, it's documented on news at ten.

No agenda, no pretenders, Lord defenders, no surrenders.

It's a ticket to freedom, and I'm inviting y'all.

What the fuck you think I'm fighting for?

Honestly, if today is my last day,

as I look at all the things that I can't say.

My will and testament, if I pass away.

All these last words, if you ask me.

If I die tomorrow,

you can take my breath away.

Oh, I still be legendary.

If I die tomorrow,

you can take my breath away.

Oh, I still be legendary.

Protect and serve.

This revolution will be televised.

Get your knee off my neck.

Protect and serve.

This motherfucking revolution will be televised.

Get your knee off my neck.

Protect and serve.

Protect and serve.

Protect and serve.

Protect and serve.

Protect and serve.

Protect and serve.

Protect and serve.

Protect and serve.

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
legendary /ˈlɛdʒəndəri/ C1	adjective - very famous; famous for remarkable achievements
justice /ˈdʒʌstɪs/ B2	noun - fairness; the principle of moral rightness
kill /kɪl/ B1	verb - to cause the death of a living being verb - to end or destroy something undesirable
soul /soʊl/ B2	noun - the spiritual or immaterial part of a person
heart /hɑːrt/ B1	noun - the muscular organ that pumps blood; also the centre of emotions
king /kɪŋ/ A2	noun - a male monarch; the ruler of a kingdom
breath /brɛθ/ A2	noun - the air taken into or expelled from the lungs
love /lʌv/ A1	noun - deep affection or strong emotional attachment
political /pəˈlɪtɪkəl/ C1	adjective - relating to government, public affairs, or the distribution of power
pride /praɪd/ B2	noun - a feeling of deep satisfaction derived from achievements or qualities
revolution /ˌrɛvəˈluːʃən/ C1	noun - a forcible overthrow of a government or social order in favor of a new system
protect /prəˈtɛkt/ B2	verb - to keep safe from harm or injury
serve /sɜrv/ B2	verb - to perform duties or provide a service for someone
knee /niː/ A2	noun - the joint between the thigh and the lower leg
neck /nɛk/ A2	noun - the part of the body that connects the head to the torso
freedom /ˈfriːdəm/ B2	noun - the power or right to act, speak, or think without restriction
black /blæk/ A1	adjective - the darkest color; having no hue noun - people of African descent; a racial or ethnic group
cry /kraɪ/ A2	verb - to shed tears, typically as an expression of emotion noun - a loud vocal expression of pain, sorrow, or joy

Key Grammar Structures

• I had plans tonight to have dinner with my baby girl, who's at home waiting on a daddy.

  ➔ Past simple + infinitive of purpose (had + to‑infinitive)

  ➔ The verb ""had"" shows a past action, and the phrase ""to have"" (to‑infinitive) expresses the purpose of that past plan.

• You can take my body, but you can't kill my soul of a man.

  ➔ Modal verbs can / can't + base verb (ability / prohibition)

  ➔ The modal ""can"" expresses ability, while ""can't"" expresses inability or prohibition.

• If I die tomorrow, you can take my breath away.

  ➔ First conditional: if + present simple, can + base verb (future possibility)

  ➔ ""If"" introduces a real future condition; ""can"" shows what is possible if the condition occurs.

• Tell your mama gotta call the cops, another nigga getting shot.

  ➔ Imperative + colloquial "gotta" (have to) + gerund (getting) for ongoing action

  ➔ ""Tell"" is an imperative verb; ""gotta"" (colloquial for "have to") shows obligation, and ""getting"" (gerund) describes a continuing event.

• What if a rapper killed a hip hop cop?

  ➔ Inverted conditional with "what if" + past simple for hypothetical situation

  ➔ ""What if"" introduces a speculative question; the verb ""killed"" is in the past simple to show an unreal, imagined scenario.

• I'm black and I'm proud, just in case you ran wrong.

  ➔ "just in case" + present simple clause (purpose/precaution)

  ➔ ""just in case"" introduces a precautionary clause; the verb ""ran"" (past simple) is used here colloquially to mean “if you make a mistake”.

• I no longer want to ask why.

  ➔ "no longer" + verb (cessation of an action)

  ➔ ""no longer"" means “not anymore”; it negates the verb ""want"" to show that the desire has stopped.

• Don't you see that's why they hate our cuts?

  ➔ Rhetorical question with negative auxiliary "don't" + present simple

  ➔ ""Don't"" is the negative auxiliary forming a question; the speaker expects agreement rather than an answer.

• We surround y'all.

  ➔ Simple present with plural subject – expresses habitual or ongoing action

  ➔ ""surround"" is in the simple present, showing a repeated or current situation involving the plural subject "we".