Jesus Lord – English Lyrics

• By: Kanye West

Lyrics & Translation

Explore 'Jesus Lord' to improve your grasp of complex, narrative-driven English. This song is a masterclass in storytelling, utilizing conversational monologues and poetic reflection that can help you learn how to express deep emotions and social commentary in English.

[English]

Tell me if you know someone that needs (Jesus, Lord)

Now, we've been through a lot of things

Tell me if you know someone that needs (Jesus, Lord)

He lives in a lot of things

Tell me if you know someone that needs (Jesus, Lord)

Been through a lot of things

Tell me if you know someone that needs (Jesus, Lord)

Sittin' by myself, I'm just thinkin'

About all I've been through, I wish I was dreamin'

Man, it's hard to be an angel when you surrounded by demons (Jesus, Lord)

I watched so many people leave

I see 'em change by the season, that's mama's seasonin'

God got you, the devil's watchin', he just peekin' in

I know I made a promise that I'd never let the reaper in (Jesus)

But lately, I've been losin' all my deepest friends (Lord)

And lately, I've been swimmin' on the deepest end

It's just drugs, it ain't no hugs, it ain't no love there

You been down so much you don't even know what's upstairs

Suicidal thoughts got you wonderin' what's up there (Jesus, Lord)

And while I introduce the party, they say it's up there

Too many pills, so much potions, so much pain, too many emotions

And everything that you do good, it just go unnoticed (Jesus)

Then they tell you that you good and just stay focused (Lord)

Mama, you was the life of the party

I swear you brought life to the party

When you lost your life, it took the life out the party (Jesus)

That woman rode with me like a Harley (Lord)

Visions of my cousins in a cell really scarred me

Movin' to the hood was like signin' up for the army

'Cause they been killin' n- since n- was watchin' Barney (Jesus)

You want dreams to come true? But I have nightmares (Lord)

'Cause if that come to life, then I might not be right here

Been in the dark so long, don't know if the light here

But I'm just reachin' for the stars like Buzz Lightyear (Jesus)

And now I'm light years ahead of those nightmares (Lord)

I deaded those night terrors when the night clears

And if I talk to Christ, can I bring my mother back to life?

And if I die tonight, will I see her in the afterlife? (Jesus)

But back to reality where everything's a tragedy (Lord)

And better have a strategy or you could be a statistic

Little boy dies, he's just one of the mystic

And mama steady cryin' 'cause she really the victim (Jesus)

Now she's gettin' high and she's gettin' addicted (Lord)

And her older boy just stuck with the picture, painted vivid

That's a family portrait and her daughter just absorbed it

16, pregnant, baby daddy say she should abort it (Jesus)

But we can't afford it, so she decides to move forward (Lord)

Baby shower time, father didn't show up

Now she just feelin' nauseous like she finna throw up

The water flows down her legs, yeah, it's finna go up (Jesus)

A year done went by, her daughter just turned one (Lord)

And she's still dependent on her mom

Big brother in the streets, he went and bought him a gun

He want revenge 'cause the pain, feelin' numb (Jesus)

And her mom still doin' drugs 'cause that's the only time she feel loved (Lord)

But is it real love? Do the scars really heal up?

From all the pain that been built up, but they don't feel us (Jesus)

...

A week done flew by, big bro ridin' then he see the guys (Lord)

Left his little brother on the side, bleedin' from the side

He seein' red, it's like he's bleedin' through his eyes

To see him dead, the only thing that'll help the grievin' up inside (Jesus)

He even let him get they last meal (Lord)

He done with the streets after this, this his last kill

He gotta show him that it's that real

He ran up on him with the pipe like, "N-, stand still" (Jesus)

"You took my brother life, you made my mother cry" (Lord)

"Tell me one reason I shouldn't send you up to Christ"

He said, "Go 'head, take my life, I've seen everything but Christ"

The big bro just blacked out and all you seein' was the light (Jesus, Lord)

...

Tell me if you know someone that needs (Jesus, Lord)

Uh-huh, in the name of the true and living God

The beneficent, the merciful (Hallelujah)

Thank you for bringin' me up the rough side of the mountain like Ertuğrul (Jesus)

Every knee bowed and every tongue confessed and paid homage (Lord)

To the monk who visited Rothschilds like Thelonious did Pannonica (sheesh)

It's Jay Elec-entendre-nica comin' through your monitor

Back from the great beyond, the Son of Man and the son of Donda (Jesus)

I never rolled the GXSR or the R6 or the Honda (Lord)

But I flew my Ducati through North America like Wakanda

Earthquakes will strike this nation for what Bush did to Rwanda (facts)

What the Clintons did to Haiti and Downing Street did to Ghana

In Tenochtitlan they call me Terremoto, El Negro Loco (Jesus)

I shake the tectonic plates of the game if I lay one vocal (Lord)

The God is interstellar while you fellas remain local

My bars is like the pyramid temples of Pacal Votan (Jesus)

As sure as the DOJ confirmed Ezekiel's Wheel (Lord)

I could change the world like Yacub with two pieces of steel

My sword and my microphone, I swore to the Christ's throne

But when you great, they wanna say you took an L, José Castillo (Jesus)

I'm in the fight here, fight here, for what seemed like light years (Lord)

My rugged cross and thorny crowns squeeze out Christ tears

30 pieces of silver clout, my Pierre price tier

It's a war outside, it's a war outside (Jesus)

It's like the last days of Sodom and Gomorrah outside (Lord)

...

Tell me if you know someone that needs (Jesus, Lord)

We've been through a lot of things

Tell me if you know someone that needs (Jesus, Lord)

He lives in a lot of things

Tell me if you know someone that needs (Jesus, Lord)

Been through a lot of things

Tell me if you know someone that needs (Jesus, Lord)

What up, Ye? This Larry Hoover Jr.

First and foremost, I wanna thank you

For taking the fight for my father to the Oval Office

You might not have been the only one that could've did that

But you were the one that did do that

And with your assistance

We can continue to let the world take part in this fight

You know to me it kinda feels like, me, my mother, my brothers

And my kids have all been incarcerated through this journey

And we haven't even been to jail

We've been looked at and treated as criminals, for being a part of this family

My father's truth and the reality that he raised me in

Is that he wanted to make a change in this community

'Cause the conditions in this capitalist society

Is what made him, and it's what made the children of today

After 25 years of bein' locked down, 23 and 1

My father has not called any shots

From one of the most secure and segregated prisons in the world

And will not, once released

Call any of the shots for the Gangster Disciples

If my father's intentions were to lead us to death, destruction

Into the hell that he has had to live in for the past 26 years

Man, he would be dead to me

I didn't sign up for that

I didn't stay on this journey this long for that

All my life, man, I've been waitin' for my father to come home

They told me when I graduate eighth grade, he would be home

Then they told me when I graduate from high school, he would be home

I went away to Morris Brown, I graduated and he still ain't home

Now I'm a adult, and my daughter went away to college and graduated

He still not home

Now even more than that, my son

He graduated eighth grade and we still waitin'

Matter of fact, he hasn't hugged

Kissed, or touched any of his grandchildren

And they haven't been able to touch they grandfather

Even though it is not seen that way for some of us

But for many of us, Larry Hoover is a beacon of hope for his community

Who deserves to breathe free air

Free my father (Jesus), Mr. Larry Hoover Sr. (Lord)

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
demon /ˈdiːmən/ B2	noun - an evil spirit or devil
reaper /ˈriːpər/ C1	noun - a person or machine that harvests crops; often personified as Death
suicidal /ˌsuːɪˈsaɪdəl/ C1	adjective - feeling deep unhappiness or thoughts of killing oneself
tragedy /ˈtrædʒɪdi/ B2	noun - a very sad event or situation
statistic /stəˈtɪstɪk/ B2	noun - a numerical fact or piece of data
vivid /ˈvɪvɪd/ B2	adjective - producing powerful feelings or strong, clear images in the mind
nauseous /ˈnɔːʃəs/ B2	adjective - feeling as if you are going to vomit
dependent /dɪˈpɛndənt/ B2	adjective - relying on someone else for financial or other support
revenge /rɪˈvɛndʒ/ B2	noun - harm done to someone in response to harm received
grievin' /ˈɡriːvɪn/ B2	verb - to feel or show intense sorrow, especially after a death
beneficent /bɪˈnɛfɪsənt/ C2	adjective - generous or doing good
homage /ˈhɒmɪdʒ/ C2	noun - special honor or respect shown publicly
interstellar /ˌɪntərˈstɛlər/ C1	adjective - occurring or situated between stars
incarcerated /ɪnˈkɑːrsəreɪtɪd/ C1	verb - imprisoned or confined
intentions /ɪnˈtɛnʃənz/ B2	noun - a thing intended; an aim or plan

Key Grammar Structures

• Now, we've been through a lot of things

  ➔ Present Perfect Tense

  ➔ "Have been" describes an action or state that started in the past and continues to the present or has relevance to the present.

• I wish I was dreamin'

  ➔ Subjunctive mood for wishes

  ➔ The speaker uses "wish I was" to express a desire for a reality that is currently different (hypothetical).

• It's hard to be an angel when you surrounded by demons

  ➔ Ellipsis (omission of 'are')

  ➔ In informal or poetic speech, the auxiliary verb "are" in "you [are] surrounded" is often omitted.

• I know I made a promise that I'd never let the reaper in

  ➔ Relative clause

  ➔ "that I'd never let the reaper in" acts as a relative clause defining the "promise".

• And if I die tonight, will I see her in the afterlife?

  ➔ First Conditional

  ➔ Uses "If + present tense" to talk about a possible future event and its consequence.

• She decides to move forward

  ➔ Infinitive as object

  ➔ "To move" is an infinitive phrase functioning as the direct object of the verb "decides".

• I could change the world like Yacub with two pieces of steel

  ➔ Modal verb for possibility

  ➔ "Could" is used here to suggest a hypothetical ability or potential action.

• You might not have been the only one that could've did that

  ➔ Modal perfect (might have been)

  ➔ "Might have been" expresses uncertainty about a past state or fact.