We Don't Care – English Lyrics

• By: Kanye West
• Album: The College Dropout

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into modern American slang and the language of defiance with 'We Don't Care.' This track is a great way to learn how colloquial English is used to express confidence and rebellion in contemporary urban music.

[English]

Oh, yeah

I got the perfect song for the kids to sing

And all my people that's-

Drug dealin' just to get by

Stack your money 'til it get sky-high (I just wanna, I just wanna)

We wasn't s'posed to make it past 25

Joke's on you, we still alive (I just wanna)

Throw your hands up in the sky and say

"We don't care what people say" (yeah, yeah, yeah, uh)

If this is your first time hearin' this

You are about to experience somethin' so cold, man

We never had nothin' handed, took nothin' for granted

Took nothin' from no man, man, I'm my own man

But as a shorty, I looked up to the dope man

Only adult, man, I knew that wasn't broke, man

Flicking Starter coats, man, man, you don't know, man

We don't care what people say

This is for my niggas outside all winter

'Cause this summer, they ain't finna say, "Next summer, I'm finna"

Sittin' in the hood like community colleges

This dope money here is Lil' Trey's scholarship

'Cause ain't no tuition for having no ambition

And ain't no loans for sittin' your ass at home

So we forced to sell crack, rap, and get a job

You gotta do somethin', man, your ass is grown

Drug dealin' just to get by

Stack your money 'til it get sky-high

Kids, sing, kids, sing!

We wasn't s'posed to make it past 25

Joke's on you, we still alive

Throw your hands up in the sky and say

"We don't care what people say"

This second verse is for my dogs working nine to five that still hustle

'Cause a nigga can't shine off 6.55

And everybody sellin' makeup, Jacob's

And bootlegged tapes just to get they cake up

We put shit on layaway, then come back

We claim other people kids on our income tax

We take that money, cop work, then push packs to get paid

And we don't care what people say

Mama say, "She wanna move South"

Scratching lottery tickets, eyes on a new house

'Round the same time, Doe ran up in dude house, couldn't get a job

So since he couldn't get work, he figured he'd take work

The drug game bulimic, it's hard to get weight

So niggas' money is homo, it's hard to get straight

But we gon' keep bakin' 'til the day we get cake

And we don't care what people say, my niggas

Drug dealin' just to get by (yeah)

Stack your money 'til it get sky-high

Kids, sing, kids, sing!

We wasn't s'posed to make it past 25

Joke's on you, we still alive (alive)

Throw your hands up in the sky and say (uh-huh, yeah)

"We don't care what people say" (yeah, yeah, ugh)

You know the kids gon' act a fool

When you stop the programs for after school

And they DCFS, some of 'em dyslexic

They favorite 50 Cent song 12 questions

We scream, "Rocks, blow, weed, park," see, now we smart

We ain't retards the way teachers thought

Hold up, hold fast, we make more cash

Now, tell my mama I belong in that slow class

It's sad enough we on welfare

You tryna put me on the school bus with the space for the wheelchair

I'm tryna get the car with the chromey wheels here

You tryna cut our lights out like we don't live here

Look what was handed us, fathers abandoned us

When we get them hammers, go on, call the ambulance

Sometimes, I feel no one in this world understands us

But we don't care what people say, my niggas

Drug dealin' just to get by

Stack your money 'til it get sky-high

Kids, sing, kids, sing!

We wasn't s'posed to make it past 25

Joke's on you, we still alive

Throw your hands up in the sky and say

"We don't care what people say"

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
perfect /ˈpɜːrfɪkt/ A1	adjective - having all the required or desirable elements
alive /əˈlaɪv/ A2	adjective - living, not dead
experience /ɪkˈspɪəriəns/ A2	verb - to encounter or undergo an event or feeling
granted /ˈɡræntɪd/ B2	verb - to take something for granted means to fail to appreciate it
ambition /æmˈbɪʃn/ B2	noun - a strong desire to do or to achieve something
tuition /tjuˈɪʃn/ B2	noun - a sum of money charged for teaching or instruction by a school
scholarship /ˈskɒləʃɪp/ B1	noun - a grant or payment made to support a student's education
hustle /ˈhʌsl/ B2	verb - to obtain by energetic activity or illicit means
abandoned /əˈbændənd/ B2	verb - to leave someone who you are responsible for
community /kəˈmjuːnəti/ A2	noun - a group of people living in the same place
welfare /ˈwelfeə(r)/ B2	noun - statutory procedure or social effort designed to promote the basic physical and material well-being of people in need
bulimic /bjuˈlɪmɪk/ C2	adjective - relating to bulimia, a disorder characterized by binge eating followed by purging
dyslexic /dɪsˈleksɪk/ C1	adjective - having difficulty in learning to read or interpret words
ambulance /ˈæmbjələns/ A2	noun - a vehicle equipped for taking sick or injured people to and from hospital
understands /ˌʌndəˈstændz/ A1	verb - to perceive the intended meaning of words or a situation

Key Grammar Structures

• We wasn't s'posed to make it past 25

  ➔ Subjunctive mood/passive voice (informal dialect)

  ➔ The phrase "wasn't s'posed to" is an informal contraction of "was not supposed to," denoting an expectation that failed to materialize.

• That summer, they ain't finna say, "Next summer, I'm finna"

  ➔ Future intention (AAVE - 'finna' for 'fixing to')

  ➔ The term "finna" is a contraction of "fixing to," used to express immediate future plans or intentions.

• So we forced to sell crack, rap, and get a job

  ➔ Ellipsis of the auxiliary verb 'are' (passive construction)

  ➔ In colloquial speech, the auxiliary verb "are" is often omitted in the phrase "we (are) forced to."

• You gotta do somethin', man, your ass is grown

  ➔ Modal of necessity (informal 'gotta' for 'have got to')

  ➔ "Gotta" is a common contraction of "have got to," indicating obligation or necessity.

• They ain't finna say, 'Next summer, I'm finna'

  ➔ Negative auxiliary 'ain't' for 'are not'

  ➔ "Ain't" acts as a colloquial substitute for "are not," adding emphasis and vernacular flavor.

• Doe ran up in dude house, couldn't get a job

  ➔ Past tense narrative (deletion of subject)

  ➔ The speaker omits the subject "he" before "couldn't," a common feature in fast-paced storytelling.

• You tryna put me on the school bus with the space for the wheelchair

  ➔ Progressive aspect (contracted 'trying to')

  ➔ "Tryna" is the phonetically reduced form of "trying to," used to describe ongoing effort or intent.

• When we get them hammers, go on, call the ambulance

  ➔ Conditional structure (implied 'if' clause)

  ➔ The "When we get..." clause functions as a conditional "If we get..." in this context.