Bringin a gun to a knife fight will get you killed    Walkin out the back door    Morals and rules only exist in the street    And the bids to buy them are going fast and large    Survival, Jackson, is a full time job    You have to keep in step with the city's heartbeat       The guys that hung out at Tippy's back in the day    Have all split up and gone their separate ways    But once in a while you can still catch some of the crew    At a shot and beer joint up in the Heights    Longin for the days of running numbers and starting street fights    With those who didn't play by the rules       In the shadow of the Apple and a swamp away from Newark    People's hearts beat straight but their souls always ring truer    You gotta back it with some muscle and think fast on your feet    On the Jersey City streets       Part of the city's been ruined by gentrification    Other parts are off limits cause it's a gangland's nation    But mostly its just workin class folks tryin to get by    They'll help you if you're in a jam    What you do with your private life they don't give a damn    But if someone's trouble, news spreads like wildfire       Patchwork congregation goes down to White Mana nightly    The cops go down there to relax, cause they're wound so tightly    From keepin the hookers and hitters in line but out of sight    The guys there can mix it up in the ring, or throw down in the street    But they're all real friendly and make you something to eat    Sometimes its just an oasis in the middle of the night      In the shadow of the Apple and a swamp away from Newark    People's hearts beat straight but their souls always ring truer    As tough as Hell's Kitchen if you can't take the heat    On the Jersey City streets       A 40 ounce, a vial, a dime bag or two    Anything to get you make you feel better or at least get you through    I may be hurtin, but I'm feeling no pain    And to those who left us before their time    We raise our bottles to you when we're drinkin our wine    Cause a little bit of you comes down from the heavens or up from the gutters when it rains       In the shadow of the Apple and a swamp away from Newark    People's hearts beat straight but their souls always ring truer    The girls down there are real tough, but they taste awfully sweet On the Jersey City streets