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Jesus Walks

Lyrics

Jesus Walks


[Intro]
We at war
We at war with terrorism, racism
But most of all we at war with ourselves

[Hook]
(Jesus walk)
God show me the way because the Devil tryna break me down
(Jesus walk with me)

[Verse 1]
You know what the Midwest is? Young and restless
Where restless (niggas) might snatch your necklace
And next these (niggas) might jack your Lexus
Somebody tell these (niggas) who Kanye West is
I walk through the valley of the Chi where death is
Top floor the view alone will leave you breathless *gasps*
Try to catch it *gasps* it's kinda hard
Getting choked by detectives, yeah, yeah, now check the method
They be askin' us questions, harass and arrest us
Sayin' "We eat pieces of shit like you for breakfast"
Huh? Y'all eat pieces of shit? What's the basis?
We ain't going nowhere but got suits and cases
A trunk full of coke, rental car from Avis
My mama used to say only Jesus can save us
Well mama I know I act a fool
But I'll be gone 'til November, I got packs to move
I hope

[Hook x2]
(Jesus walk)
God show me the way because the Devil's trying to break me down
(Jesus walk with me)
The only thing that I pray is that my feet don't fail me now
(Jesus walk)
And I don't think there's nothin' I can do now to right my wrongs
(Jesus walk with me)
I wanna talk to God but I'm afraid cause we ain't spoke in so long

[Verse 2]
To the hustlers, killers, murderers, drug dealers, even the scrippers
(Jesus walks for them)
To the victims of welfare for we livin' in Hell here, hell yeah
(Jesus walks for them)
Now, hear ye, hear ye, want to see Thee more clearly
I know he hear me when my feet get weary
Cause we're the almost nearly extinct
We rappers is role models: we rap, we don't think
I ain't here to argue about his facial features
Or here to convert atheists into believers
I'm just tryna say the way school need teachers
The way Kathie Lee needed Regis, that's the way I need Jesus
So here go my single dog, radio needs this
They say you can rap about anything except for Jesus
That means guns, sex, lies, videotape
But if I talk about God my record won't get played, huh?
Well if this take away from my spins
Which'll probably take away from my ends
Then I hope this take away from my sins
And bring the day that I'm dreamin' about
Next time I'm in the club, everybody screamin' out

[Hook]

Analysis

"Jesus Walks" is often credited to being the first rap song to really bridge hip hop and religion. In this song West Laments his ability to rap about literally anything other than faith. By using this platform to tell the stories of Jesus, West has perhaps opened up the Gospel to a much larger audience. West also potrays faith as a positive in this, as he needs God to show him the way through the Devil's tests of war with racism and his own self.

This song is very important when discussing West's religious affiliations as it truly shows his belief in Jesus. While this song doesn't illustrate his "Godlike" traits, it does show the prohetic nature to his music.

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