Family Matters

Gettin arrested at school
That's just family matters

Summers spent by the pool
That's just family matters

Flag football w my bro
That's just family matters

Love that's unconditional
That's just family matters

Through the hectic divorce
That's just family matters

Won't love you no less of course
That's just family matters

The friends you don't get to choose
That's just family matters

They say that time heals all wounds
That's just family matters

Lets take it back to the earliest of days before my parents went their separate ways
Pops was the top contractor in the state
And my moms was his accountant kept every penny in place
It was all good, til it wasn't good, knahmsayin?

Eventually poppa lost his way
That alcohol cocaine
He'd be gone for several days
My mama felt estranged
Til he'd called her from the popo station
DUI's and altercations
Interlocks and hollow explanations
Once they separated

Moms took her to seeds to a humble apartment
Shared a bunk bed with my brother 'til he shipped off to college
I was at every game he played, under them Friday night lights
Drank a gallon of hot chocolate with moms every time

He excelled at every sport, in short I was the opposite
Art shows and band practice, skateboards and cannabis
Top notch GPA but I almost lost my diploma
When they caught me on senior trip with that skunk like aroma

Gettin arrested at school
That's just family matters

Summers spent by the pool
That's just family matters

Flag football w my bro
That's just family matters

Love that's unconditional
That's just family matters

Through the hectic divorce
That's just family matters

Won't love you no less of course
That's just family matters

The friends you don't get to choose
That's just family matters

They say that time heals all wounds
That's just family matters

We were never short on anything we needed
Even when the rent was late and my mom was feeling depleted
Overworked and defeated
She still kept food on the table
Free lunch, food stamps, three jobs, enough to break you

Every Christmas Eve as kids mom would cry by the tree
Wishing she had as many gifts as they'd show on TV
We would reassure her mom that's not the presence that we're here for
We just wanna spend the day together what're them tears for

But the land of capitalism, where you're worth what you own
Isn't so easy for a single mother worked to the bone
The self loathing creeped in every night
So she drank away the pain 'til the liquor cleared her mind

Finding love at 60 plus is a hell of a task
She had a heart that was full, an empty nest, and a sadness
That lasted several engagements til she found what she deserved
Now she's married, retired, and plays pickleball after church

Gettin arrested at school
That's just family matters

Summers spent by the pool
That's just family matters

Flag football w my bro
That's just family matters

Love that's unconditional
That's just family matters

Through the hectic divorce
That's just family matters

Won't love you no less of course
That's just family matters

The friends you don't get to choose
That's just family matters

They say that time heals all wounds
That's just family matters

Remember dad used to drag me and my brother round the yard on the tarp pulled by the lawnmower
Every fall
We would alternate between
Pretending we were surfing at the beach and tryna push each other off

When my grandma told us stories we would listen
At the family reunion it was sweet tea and chicken
Pleasant memories crystalized as instant Kodak moments
We would drop 'em off at Walgreens and pick 'em up in the morning

So much love in those photo albums
My family, myself I wouldn't be without them
Family, a word I use for all my closest friends
Family, something if you've never felt then I hope thru this song you can

Gettin arrested at school
That's just family matters

Summers spent by the pool
That's just family matters

Flag football w my bro
That's just family matters

Love that's unconditional
That's just family matters

Through the hectic divorce
That's just family matters

Won't love you no less of course
That's just family matters

The friends you don't get to choose
That's just family matters

They say that time heals all wounds
That's just family matters